"Big Sister" God

I feel blessed to be the mother that lives closest to our daughter's family. That has meant that a good share of their laundry gets done at my house. Kayla and the two little granddaughters were here today to do a couple of loads, so I got the pleasure of playing with them most of the afternoon.

Jenna, the three-year-old, has quite the imagination and a lot of her play is "pretend shopping and/or doctor visits." It amazes me, the things she comes up with on our pretend excursions. Her baby doll did a lot of vomiting and running of the nose today. Little sister Julia, on the other hand, mostly follows big sister around to make sure she gets to be part of the action, but passionately hangs on to her dolls so they stay in her possession and don't get "kidnapped" by big sister.

Interestingly enough, I have found myself "following God around," yet vigorously protecting some aspect of my life. Holding onto it desperately, trying to prevent God from snatching it away from me. Things I have been attached to include pride, grief, guilt, and anger. I've noticed though that the only time God tries to take them away are when they become too heavy to bear. Then like a big sister, God intervenes. Well, gently intervenes, not totally like big sister.

A Heavenly Tax Refund

My nephew filed his taxes today, with fine visions of the purchases he will make when that refund money rolls in. People complain about taxes; they even make jokes about them. But seldom do I hear anyone express thankfulness for what our taxes pay for. Surely there are things we wish the government didn't use our tax dollars for, but there are also plenty of services we should be grateful for, and be willing to contribute our share.

Jesus said in Matthew 22:21, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." As we use this time of year to "render to Caesar" through our taxes, let's not forget the second part of His comment. Let's make sure that God gets what belongs to Him as well. Have you given Him your life? The refund on that transaction is "heaven"ly.

Pride--Faith in Yourself

My afternoon Sabbath reading was on the topic of pride. Pride must be about the most offensive and dangerous of all sins, perhaps because it was the original sin, starting with Lucifer and even leading to Eve's eating of the fruit. She wanted to be like God, knowing good and evil, remember?

Pride is one of the hardest sins to conquer, but is also the one most unrecognized, both by others and even by ourselves. Even the finest Christian struggles with it every day. It leads to self-righteousness, which is nothing more than pride in oneself. A proud person ultimately only has faith in himself and that is why it separates us from God and is so dangerous.

Jesus was the most wonderful example of humility. Our only hope of escaping the pull of pride is to constantly pattern our lives after Him. I have a feeling it will be the work of our lifetime. I know it has been mine.

How to Survive with Cancer

If there's one time we wish our words of encouragement could benefit someone, it's when they are most in need for them. But I find myself almost wordless when it comes to comforting a good friend who just got diagnosed with cancer. Before my parents both died of cancer, the word "cancer" was just another word. It's only when you or a loved one has the dreaded disease that the full meaning hits you like a ton of bricks.

My friend is deaf and a single mother, which hasn't made for an easy life. Only God knows why this diagnosis was given to someone who has already seen her share of life's heartaches. One has to ask, why this and why now?

I don't know how she will be given the strength to come through this ordeal, but I do believe that God has a plan for her life, and when she has turned her life over to God, something good will eventually be seen through this trial. I do pray for her to develop this kind of trust in God, because the real cancer survivors aren't just the ones who live through it, but the ones who don't give in to fear and instead place their faith and trust in God. Theoretically then, anyone can "survive" cancer, with God.

Everything a Blessing

Yesterday I had what felt like a very unproductive day. Very ordinary, run-of-the-mill activities for this caregiver grandma. Then this morning on a board meeting phone conference, I was asked to proofread a 40-page grant for 2.7 million dollars for brain injury resources and advocacy that must be turned in no later than tomorrow night at midnight! Boy, did my "worthiness" quotient go up a few miles with that one.

So I agreed saying, "Oh, sure, I've got all afternoon to work on it." Then I discovered I would have to go with my daughter to a doctor's appointment to watch the two little granddaughters. I didn't dare check my blood pressure at that point, but I went with her, got home and furiously got the proofreading done too, with time for this blog.

God is so good to me. He never fails to give me just WHAT I need, just WHEN I need it. I can't praise Him enough. I believe if we turn our lives over to God, everything will turn out to be a blessing. Maybe not at the time it happens, and maybe not even in this lifetime. But someday we will recognize God's signature in all the happenings of our life, the good and the bad. It will all contribute to God's glory, and what's not good about that?

Dying to Self, Not Sin

This was one of those days that didn't feel very productive. But then again, maybe it was. I gave the dog a bath, made some delicious split pea soup for supper, and brought my granddaughter to a church youth meeting in the evening. In between those highlights, there was just your regular being-here-for-him kind of caregiving. Were it not for me, he probably wouldn't have seen so many DIFFERENT episodes of The Dick Van Dyke Show.

How does one measure productivity? Maybe we shouldn't look at it on a daily basis. The months and years are what really count, aren't they? But Paul said in the Bible, "I die daily." We usually think of that as dying to sin, but perhaps it would be more accurate to say we die to self. That could be a significant difference. One is saying you refrain from doing something and the other is saying you actually should be doing something.

My day may have actually been very productive if I see it from the standpoint of dying to self. I guess I may have accomplished alot after all. I think I'll say good-bye to self again tomorrow. It felt pretty good.

Does Our Vote Count?

I opted out of writing a blog last night. Got distracted, and then the State of the Union address came on and I knew it wasn't going to happen after that. Actually, I confess to falling asleep before the speech was over. So much for my strong, patriotic fervor.

It just seems like, as a nation, we should listen to our president, no matter who he is, at least once a year for this traditional event of the "State of the Union". This is an election year, however, so it's not the easiest time for a presidential speech to be given. You want to make yourself look good, in hopes of getting elected another four years. And you will make promises for the future that have little chance of seeing the light of day. I don't blame a president for wanting another four years though. Four years is barely enough time to learn the ropes of the office, let alone make significant changes in the country.

I started to find myself more interested in our government and hence, politics, since 9/11. I suppose it just gives me a greater sense of security to know what's going on. But I have found out that the only security we have is with our God. The Bible says He sets up kingdoms and brings them down. So I believe that, no matter who is in office, we can trust God to make it work out to fulfill His will. That's what I pray for--God's will to be fulfilled. We know His will is for sin to come to an end, but only God knows how and when that will happen.

Does my vote count then? Yes. I will continue to vote for the man I feel has the best "job experience". I can't even pretend to know his heart though. That is totally up to God.