Well, we are almost into July! Half way through the year already and summer has definitely arrived in Southern California. Needless to say, we have been baking with temperatures ranging in the 90's and 100's. Oregon sounds pretty good right now and I wouldn't mind visiting our friends too!
Today I wanted to check out GodTube.com because I have heard it mentioned in the past and came across this amazing video about a muslim woman who discovers Christianity. I think she is pretty interesting and think you might too.
http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=692b181045d36b497654
Monday, June 30, 2008
Friday, June 20, 2008
Blushing Roses
My husband loves to buy me roses and he does so quite often. (Which is something that always tickles me and I realize how kind and thoughtful he is to me.) These roses were just incredible and such a beau
tiful color I just had to share with you.
tiful color I just had to share with you.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
God's Love For Me and You Too!
Okay, it's not easy to understand just how much the LORD loves us, yet that is exactly what I must try to do to be able to truly love God, others and myself well. My favorite verses in the bible are found in Ephesians 3: 17-19..."And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."
For sometime now I have thought, or rather wondered about those words. I remember the first time I heard them I was on my way to work and fairly new to Oregon so it must have been 1995. I was driving through a side street and passing a high school, when the radio station I was listening to said that these verses were the verses for the day. I thought, "Wow, if only I could understand God's love for me! Wouldn't that be something?!" And imagine if everyone understood how much God loves them...the world would never be the same. And when I was baptized 6 years ago those are the words I quoted as my life verses. Yet, here I am still striving to grasp God's love for me.
Our bible study, Loving Well by Beth Moore, is now talking about this very topic. If only we could understand God's love for us! It's just not possible to really love fully and completely until we first understand that God loves us fully and completely, that He loved us first, and nothing on this earth or in heaven can separate us from Him. We, on the other hand, are trying to love God more without ever realizing or knowing His deep, abiding love. Not possible. It will always be a crippled, conditional or incomplete love we have for God and others unless we let Him fill us with His love first. So as I try to understand this complete love He has for me, which I am still reaching to grasp, I pray that you too will know just how much you are loved by God. Love, N.
For sometime now I have thought, or rather wondered about those words. I remember the first time I heard them I was on my way to work and fairly new to Oregon so it must have been 1995. I was driving through a side street and passing a high school, when the radio station I was listening to said that these verses were the verses for the day. I thought, "Wow, if only I could understand God's love for me! Wouldn't that be something?!" And imagine if everyone understood how much God loves them...the world would never be the same. And when I was baptized 6 years ago those are the words I quoted as my life verses. Yet, here I am still striving to grasp God's love for me.
Our bible study, Loving Well by Beth Moore, is now talking about this very topic. If only we could understand God's love for us! It's just not possible to really love fully and completely until we first understand that God loves us fully and completely, that He loved us first, and nothing on this earth or in heaven can separate us from Him. We, on the other hand, are trying to love God more without ever realizing or knowing His deep, abiding love. Not possible. It will always be a crippled, conditional or incomplete love we have for God and others unless we let Him fill us with His love first. So as I try to understand this complete love He has for me, which I am still reaching to grasp, I pray that you too will know just how much you are loved by God. Love, N.
Monday, June 9, 2008
My Own Personal Physical Therapist, from Jesus with Love
I've been going regularly to my physical therapy for the last 4 weeks now and my knee is certainly on the road to wellness, but not without some setbacks of late. It has been hard to accept that I will not be shopping like a maniac anytime soon, let alone run a marathon in the next year or so. Recently my shin has been causing me quite a bit of pain, especially in the wee hours of the morning. But what I really want to tell you about is something special that happened to me yesterday. So let me take a deep breath and share a story of a servant, or rather someone like Jesus with skin on.
I know a wonderful woman from church, who always sits in the pew behind us and has just the most friendly and thoughtful personality. Her name is Sue...not the same Sue who was hospitalized in March, this one is a Physical Therapist and also a school teacher. Currently, she is obediently waiting to see which direction the LORD would have her go in her career(s) and listening for His answer.
This past Sunday, before service started, Sue arrived and immediately asked how both Robert and I were during in our recovery. Well, I still haven't figured out how to graciously say, "overall I am fine, but my leg is killing me." I don't want to be a whiner or a complainer, and really, eventually my leg will be fine, however I sure could use some prayer about the leg aching so much. So I did tell Sue how much my leg kept me up the night before in between Robert's ribs making him groan whenever he turned over. (It is pretty funny in a way, we are a train wreck right now). Sue, immediately asked me professional physical therapy questions and then volunteered to take a look at my leg after service and Sunday School. Well, my leg actually was hurting quite a bit by the time the next 3 hours rolled by so I accepted her invitation to look at it. As class was clearing out, and people milling all around, Sue in her beautiful black dress begins immediately touching, flexing, and massaging my leg and foot, which are propped up on a chair. She starts asking everyone who comes by for some hand lotion, and when she is handed a bottle of Dove body lotion takes a huge glob of it, applies it to my leg, massaging it in and all the while telling me she can feel the exact locations where it is all inflamed. I am so relieved that she believes me and can tell by her practiced touch that I do indeed have something going on that is causing the pain. She suggests, and I agree, that I probably have shin splints because she has noticed over the past few months that I have not been walking or standing correctly and now I am feeling the consequences of doing that. She also says that surgery recovery really takes 6-8 weeks and I am only 4 weeks post op. That means....hold your breath, I must be more PATIENT with myself. What? I think I am very patient! Ha! My family will get a kick out of that statement! Sue also noticed my lack of flexibility, and gave me exercises and suggestions on how to relieve the aching and strengthen the leg muscles. All the while she is talking she is massaging and flexing my leg and foot and getting lotion on her dress! This continued for one whole HOUR! We were the only ones left in the building by the time she was done and my leg felt great the rest of the day! What is so hard to express even now is how her posture of servanthood affected me. I want to do something in return for her, not because I feel I am in her debt, but because I want her to know how much I loved and appreciated her kindness. I want to love her back! It is so difficult to absorb when someone is so generous towards me. Does anybody out there know what I am talking about? I want to weep for joy and express the love showered on me! Especially over something so insignificant in the grand scheme of things...but it mattered to me! And isn't that just like Jesus? Even though the rest of world continues on...He sent one of His servants to take care of me! LORD thank you for people like Sue, who are your hands and feet...taking care of my leg and foot! That is truly the posture of a servant. Many blessings LORD on my friend Sue. Thank you for her example of being your servant.
Would love to hear your story of how Jesus sent one of his faithful and obedient servants to care for you in His name.
Additional information posted on Tuesday: The doctor decided yesterday during my physical therapy to run a blood clot test, and ordered an x-ray as well. X-ray showed my leg bones, and ankle are fine. Blood clot test has to be scheduled and I am still waiting, but I really believe I just have some mighty fine shin splints.
I know a wonderful woman from church, who always sits in the pew behind us and has just the most friendly and thoughtful personality. Her name is Sue...not the same Sue who was hospitalized in March, this one is a Physical Therapist and also a school teacher. Currently, she is obediently waiting to see which direction the LORD would have her go in her career(s) and listening for His answer.
This past Sunday, before service started, Sue arrived and immediately asked how both Robert and I were during in our recovery. Well, I still haven't figured out how to graciously say, "overall I am fine, but my leg is killing me." I don't want to be a whiner or a complainer, and really, eventually my leg will be fine, however I sure could use some prayer about the leg aching so much. So I did tell Sue how much my leg kept me up the night before in between Robert's ribs making him groan whenever he turned over. (It is pretty funny in a way, we are a train wreck right now). Sue, immediately asked me professional physical therapy questions and then volunteered to take a look at my leg after service and Sunday School. Well, my leg actually was hurting quite a bit by the time the next 3 hours rolled by so I accepted her invitation to look at it. As class was clearing out, and people milling all around, Sue in her beautiful black dress begins immediately touching, flexing, and massaging my leg and foot, which are propped up on a chair. She starts asking everyone who comes by for some hand lotion, and when she is handed a bottle of Dove body lotion takes a huge glob of it, applies it to my leg, massaging it in and all the while telling me she can feel the exact locations where it is all inflamed. I am so relieved that she believes me and can tell by her practiced touch that I do indeed have something going on that is causing the pain. She suggests, and I agree, that I probably have shin splints because she has noticed over the past few months that I have not been walking or standing correctly and now I am feeling the consequences of doing that. She also says that surgery recovery really takes 6-8 weeks and I am only 4 weeks post op. That means....hold your breath, I must be more PATIENT with myself. What? I think I am very patient! Ha! My family will get a kick out of that statement! Sue also noticed my lack of flexibility, and gave me exercises and suggestions on how to relieve the aching and strengthen the leg muscles. All the while she is talking she is massaging and flexing my leg and foot and getting lotion on her dress! This continued for one whole HOUR! We were the only ones left in the building by the time she was done and my leg felt great the rest of the day! What is so hard to express even now is how her posture of servanthood affected me. I want to do something in return for her, not because I feel I am in her debt, but because I want her to know how much I loved and appreciated her kindness. I want to love her back! It is so difficult to absorb when someone is so generous towards me. Does anybody out there know what I am talking about? I want to weep for joy and express the love showered on me! Especially over something so insignificant in the grand scheme of things...but it mattered to me! And isn't that just like Jesus? Even though the rest of world continues on...He sent one of His servants to take care of me! LORD thank you for people like Sue, who are your hands and feet...taking care of my leg and foot! That is truly the posture of a servant. Many blessings LORD on my friend Sue. Thank you for her example of being your servant.
Would love to hear your story of how Jesus sent one of his faithful and obedient servants to care for you in His name.
Additional information posted on Tuesday: The doctor decided yesterday during my physical therapy to run a blood clot test, and ordered an x-ray as well. X-ray showed my leg bones, and ankle are fine. Blood clot test has to be scheduled and I am still waiting, but I really believe I just have some mighty fine shin splints.
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