Here I Am

When I was in my 20’s I had a cat named Spunky. Spunky loved to play, in-fact, I was able to teach her how to fetch. Yes, you can teach a cat to fetch, it just takes a little more time and patience than with a dog. I would throw out the little cat ball to Spunky and she would bring it back to me again and again, she loved to play.  When thinking about Spunky fetching I thought about how our spiritual lives are much like playing fetch with God. He throws out his love to us, we catch it and bring it back to him. But just how important is it to show God our love and return it to him? It is very important! God gave us free-will and sometimes we stray from showing God our love and devotion. While deciding whether or not we’ll show God our love, we sometimes hold onto that ball when he throws it out to us. Sometimes for many years we don’t throw our love back to him.  If we don’t return our love to God we may find ourselves straying from him. Daily activities can distract us pulling...

When I was in high school I remember thinking about what would make me a success. I thought that if I married a doctor, lived in a brick house and could put fresh flowers on the dining room table then I would be a success.  When I got older, in my 20’s, I thought that having a new car and a house would make me a success.  When I was in my 30’s I thought that being a success would be having lots of money.  I found throughout the years that my definition of success always changed and involved material things.  The Merriam-Webster Dictionary describes success as “the attainment of wealth, favor or eminence”. This unfortunately is what our society sees as an accurate description of success. Now, some 30 years later I find my definition of success to be much different. Today I find my success resides in God; it is what is most important to me. In the Bible there are many stories that tell of success. In the book of Esther, Queen Esther finds success when she defeats Hamen...

​I am currently reading from the book of Ezra and the story of God’s people rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem. Ezra 1:1 through 6:22.  In this story, King Cyrus of Persia declares that the temple of the Lord was going to be rebuilt. God’s people heard this call and went to work. While building, God’s people were finding that not only was the physical temple being restored but their spiritual temple inside of them as well. Rebuilding the temple has many significant meanings to the lives of God’s people in Biblical times as well as in our lives today.  Working on the temple in Biblical times gave the people something to believe in. Today, more than ever, we need to have the same thing; some bit of hope to hang on to. If you’ve fallen away from God, you can easily reestablish your relationship with him by confessing your sins or committing to a prayer life. Nothing life altering, just a few stolen moments each day chatting with our Lord; just talk to him like you would a friend....

​When I was growing up I had an irrational fear that wolves lived under my bed. I was so convinced of this that I never let my legs dangle over the side of the bed. When I woke up I jumped from the end of the bed to the door. I slept with the lights on and I never took my glasses off. If there were wolves under my bed I wanted to see them. I was certain that the wolves wanted to eat me alive. Irrational fear can sometimes incapacitate us. When this happens, what should we do?  Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Make your fears known to God, tell him what it is that is bothering you. I wish I would have known about this when I was younger; I had no one to confide in about my fears. Concentrating on God and praying to him would have made all the difference i...

Recently I went to church and the sermon was on Jesus’ first miracle, changing water into wine. At that moment I thought, “I’ve heard this story a thousand times, what more can I learn?” Then as I was half heartedly listening a light bulb went off in my head.   In the Bible story (John 2:1-13) Jesus, his disciples and his mother, Mary, went to a wedding in Cana. There they were having a good time, or I expect they were, when Jesus’ mother said to Jesus, “The wedding hosts have run out of wine”. Jesus declares to his mother “What concern is that to you and me?” (John 2:4)  Jesus decides to help out anyway and instructs the servants to fill six jars full of water. They did so and served it to the chief steward who couldn’t understand why the hosts had saved the best wine for last. Usually the best wine was served first and the lesser wine was served last after the guests were drunk. At this moment our pastor explained that the wine Jesus supplied was symbolic of Jesus filling th...

We used to have a miniature dachshund named Buzz. Buzz came with us to South Dakota one year when we went on vacation. We had a great time and were getting ready to come back home after a long week. The night before we left I grilled steaks. I gave the steak bones to the dog to chew on as a special treat.  The next day we started for the long drive home, about nine hours. About an hour into our trek we smelled something awful. Being an Iowa farm girl I thought we must be driving by a hog barn. But I started thinking, there aren’t any hog barns in South Dakota. Suddenly I knew what it was…..the dog! It was the bones I gave him the night before making him sick. We had to stop often and smell that horrible smell. Each hour seemed like ten hours.  My husband got very upset, it took a lot of patience on everyone’s part to deal with this situation. Nine hours in the car with a sick dog…..ugh! There are many times in our lives when we need patience. God thought that patience was so i...

Yesterday I was talking with my son about when he first learned to swim. I told him he was about three when he took to the water. I reminisced with him for a while then I started thinking about when I learned to swim. It wasn’t when I was three but twenty three. Why was I so old when I learned to swim? I was terrified of the water.  When I was about five I went to swimming lessons. For some reason I was afraid to put my head underwater. The swimming instructor caught onto this real quick and sat near me at the edge of the pool. She said I should dunk in the water on three. She counted but I didn’t go under, instead she put her foot on the top of my head on three and dunked me and held me under the water; I was really terrified! I quit swimming lessons the next day and never learned to swim. Years later, when I was twenty three I did learn to swim but it took a huge amount of trust and courage on my behalf to accomplish it.  I often have troubles in my life and find that just l...

​Yesterday I was reading the Bible story of Elisha in the Old Testament, what an interesting read! One thing that really struck me was that Jesus and his disciples weren’t the only ones to perform miracles.  2 Kings chapters 2-6 provides us with the stories of Elisha’s miracles. He makes unsanitary water potable again, raises a widows son, makes a poison stew edible, makes an axe head float and feeds one hundred people. The later story, feeding the one hundred, is reminiscent of Jesus feeding the five thousand and the four thousand.  In the feeding of the one hundred, a man comes to Elisha with twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain (2 Kings 4:42).  Elisha instructs the man to “Give it to the people and let them eat”. The man states that the food is not enough for one hundred people but Elisha basically says to do it anyway.  The man gives it to the people and there was enough to go around with some left over. Where have I heard this story before?  Thro...

​When I was growing up my favorite person in the world was my paternal grandmother. My siblings and I were the only grandchildren she had so we were really special to her.  One thing my grandmother did exceptionally well was cook. When we went to grandma’s house we were always stuffed after a good meal. She made the most scrumptious desserts too which usually included apple pie. I did not particularly like apple pie, but one thing I really loved was blueberry pie. My grandmother knew this so she would bake a blueberry pie just for me. Because of this she called me “the blueberry girl”. One day years later I got a phone call saying that my grandmother had died, how would I ever live without her? I was devastated.  Later that night I had a really vivid dream. I was in my grandmother’s kitchen and there she was cooking at the stove with her back turned to me. I exclaimed, “Grandma, you can’t be here, you’re dead!” She turned around, smiled and said, “No, I’m not dead” and I woke ...

​I am from a small town in Minnesota. I often drive through the “main drag” of town. At a stoplight I see a woman sitting on the corner with all of her belongings in a shopping cart. She is known in town as Nicole.  Everyone knows about Nicole but no one does anything to help her. I often think, “Maybe I should stop and talk with her.”  Then I drive on. What if she was an angel waiting for someone to show her mercy? Hebrews 13:2 says “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it”.  Do you believe in angels? In the Bible, angels are described as heavenly beings, but most often they are described as looking just like you and me.  In Genesis 18:1-15 three men visited Abraham. Abraham offered them hospitality by granting them water, food and shade under a nearby tree.  The three men then told Abraham his wife, Sarah, would have a son. Sarah overheard this and laughed because she was advanced in ye...

​Worrywart, worrywart. If there ever was one; I am the champion.  My kids are going to a party on Saturday night. Will there be alcohol? Will there be drugs? Worry. My husband works in a hazardous environment. Will he get hurt? Will he get cancer? Worry. I worry about most everything. Why do I do this? How do I stop this vicious cycle? The Bible says to turn to God.  1 Peter 5:7 says “Cast all your anxiety on him, for he cares for you”. I have often repeated this verse over and over again when I feel worrisome. But one thing I have never fully understood is how exactly do I give my anxiety to God? Worry is not a physical thing that we can grab ahold of and say, “Here God, I heard you wanted this!”  Philippians 4:6 says “Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be known to God” Okay, this makes sense. By prayer and request with thanksgiving. Hmmmm…. Please God, take this worry from me. Okay, this makes se...

​In the book of Mark, chapter 5 verses 1-20 is the story of a tormented man named Legion. I find this story very intriguing and interesting.  One day, Jesus and his disciples traveled across the Sea of Galilee to Gerasenes. There they found a man possessed with demons; the man bowed down to Jesus. The demon possessed man  said, “What have you to do with me, Jesus?” Jesus knew this man was possessed by demons. In this instance, it was also obvious that Jesus knew the demons, and the demons knew him.  But if the man was full of demons, why did the demons bow down to Jesus? Did the demons fear him? It is obvious in many other Bible stories about demons that they knew and respected Jesus. In this way, we are protected from the evil one if we believe in Jesus. Another great reason to worship our Lord and Savior!  Jesus asked the man, “What is your name?” The man answered, “My name is Legion; for we are many.” How many is many? Two, two hundred, two thousand? It must have ...

​Have you ever lost your child? Even for a short time? I have, and I can tell you it was one of the most stressful days of my life.  My children are 35 and 33 now, and even though they’re adults, I still worry about them. I worry about them getting into a car crash, getting seriously ill, or other needless worries. I know God says not to worry, but I’m a mother and I still do. I remember one time when my son was three years old and I was very worried about him. We went to the grocery store; just another typical shopping trip. I had some film I wanted developed, so I went to the service counter. In those days, you put the film in a little bag and wrote what type of prints you wanted, your address, and other things on the bag.  My son was near me and he wandered over to a toy section close by. I filled out the information for the film and turned back to get him, and he was gone. Terror struck my heart! Where was he? I was sure he hadn’t gone too far, so I searched for him. Sever...

​I used to be the Children’s Ministry Director at my church. One day I ordered a bunch of small toys for a game fair I was hosting. In the lot were whistles, balls, jacks and boomerangs. Everything looked harmless except for the boomerangs. I thought, “What if someone gets hurt with them”. Then I dismissed the idea thinking that the kids wouldn’t be able to throw them right anyway.  Everyone had fun at the game fair; it was a success. Everyone had a toy including the bright pink boomerangs with “Jesus loves you” printed on them. Just to be safe I told the kids to make sure they were outside when they were playing with them. I was a little worried I admit.  The next day I got a call from one of the parents, their son got one of the boomerangs and went outside to try it out. He threw it and it came right back to him and hit him smack between the eyes. The spot where it hit him was bleeding quite a bit so they took him to the emergency room; he had to have stitches! Like this lit...

When I was young, I remember making requests to God. Usually it was for something frivolous like a new bike or a new toy. I was too young to know that God doesn’t work that way.  I was reading from 1 Samuel today and read the story of Hannah. This is possibly my favorite story in the Bible because, as a mother myself, it tears my heart out to read about a woman who wants a child so badly she begs God for his favor. This story is wrought with so many emotions: grief, joy, love and of course faith. Like so many women in the Bible, Hannah was barren. She prayed and prayed for the child she did not have. She wanted him so badly that she told God that she would give her child to him if he granted her request.  God did hear Hannah’s prayer, and because of her great faith, he granted her request. Hannah had a child. She named him Samuel which means “because I prayed for him” (1 Samuel 1:20).  Hannah never went back on her word to God. When Samuel was just a toddler, she bro...

​This is my first blog post. I have to tell you that I am quite unsure of myself. I have been reading other blog posts and wonder if I can measure up. I am an upper middle aged woman who loves to read and write. I have stacks of books and journals to prove it.  My first blog post is going to be about my great-grandmother. I was about five years old when I stayed overnight. I had fun helping my grandma in the garden that day and helping her to make dinner, or supper where I’m from.   When the day was over, my grandma put me on the couch to sleep since they didn’t have any guest bedrooms. She had a big writing desk that was across the room from the couch. I really was’t that sleepy since it was quite a bit before my regular bedtime so I waited and watched what she did.  Next she went to the writing desk and sat down and pulled out a little book with a rough looking cover. She started writing in it and she wrote for quite a long time. I was starting to get sleepy but I manag...