Billy has ARRIVED!

Today was a very big day for two little girls (and one not so little, Aimee!).

Billy has arrived at the Blessed Life Ranch. He was a little anxious so the previous owners brought Dixie to keep him company for awhile until he gets use to us and the BLR. He is a Welsh pony and beautiful in every way. Gentle-natured, well-broke, and the color of Aimee's hair.

Well, he is just about perfect!

Run to Jesus in the storms of life!

Make no mistake: the storms of life come to us all. Some experience devastating loss for which there seems to be no explanation. Others may live with chronic pain or disability. Some endure the hardships of financial meltdown while others suffer through the agonies of a faithless spouse. Parents pray with groaning for a wayward child and many know the sting of a faithless friend.

I told someone recently (someone who is in the valley of affliction) that there seems to me to be only one answer when these storms of life assail us: Run to Jesus. Run. He will help you carry the load, indeed, He will carry you and the load. The Everlasting Arms will be your comfort and you can safely hide under the shadow of His wings. There just doesn't seem to be any other option for me as a Christian. I must run to Jesus in the storms of life and only there will I find the strength for each day...no matter what it brings.

So if you're looking for me, I am either running to Jesus or ...... running to Jesus!

Sunset on a beautiful Minnesota lake.

Thank you Bruce and Peggy for allowing us those splendid days at your lake home! They even got Grandma to go tubing. More fun than a person ought to have!

Sunrise at the Blessed Life Ranch

July 2010

Run to JESUS

I have posted about my home little signs that read "Run to JESUS!" The reason being: absolutely everything that comes my way can be appropriately addressed by my dear Lord Jesus. He is my comfort, joy, companion, teacher, instructor and, above all, my dearest, truest friend.

And how does one find out about our precious Lord?

The Scriptures.

I ran across an old hymn in an old hymnal entitled, "Thy Word Is Like a Garden, Lord", and since I am a gardener I was most appreciative of the analogy.

Thy Word is like a garden, Lord,
With flowers bright and fair;

And every one who seeks may pluck

A lovely cluster there.

Thy Word is like a deep, deep mine;

And jewels rich and rare

Are hidden in its mightly depths

For every searcher there.

O may I love Thy precious Word,

May I explore the mine,

May I its fragrant flowers glean,

May light upon me shine.

O may I find my armor there,

Thy Word my trusty sword;

I'll learn to fight with every foe

The battle of the Lord.

(I wish we sang more of these old hymns...sigh!)

So I have purposed in my heart to always run to Jesus and to find Him I need only look into His precious Word.

Sweet joy and a garden of delight!

Crocus Hill

We were up to Devils Lake on April 17 to celebrate my Mom's 90th birthday. Of course, we went to the Cove for lunch. It was great! Then we drove around the lake...well, some of the lake. It has become very large and we would have to get up very early in the morning to drive around ALL of the lake. We did drive out to the side of the lake where my grandparents had their farm and where my mom grew up. Of course, the farm is long gone and the shore line is now just a few feet from the farm house's previous location. It was once about 2 miles away! We drove around what was left of the farm land and pastures and had the thrill of climbing Crocus Hill, a place my mom eight decades ago picked the lovely harbinger of Spring. It was with a haunting joy that I huffed and puffed to the top.

We found an old dump hay rake and each took a turn sitting on it. I imagined my grandpa making hay on a hot July day and I could almost smell the sweet fragrance of fresh-cut grass.

Making hay and Crocus Hill...what a sweet treat. What a joy to spend the day with Mom.

The Cross Triumphant

I just completed reading aloud to my student, Alex, The Cross Triumphant, another fabulous publication from Lamplighter Publishing.

Written in the 19th Century this little gem describes clearly the law/grace debate and sets the story in the last 3 1/2 years of the great tribulation period just before the fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. I really grew to care about the young rabbi turned believer and felt deeply the horror of those last days just prior to the end of the Jewish age.

It was really worth reading.

Pastor Monty Strikes Again!

I am re-reading some of my notes from Resurrection Sunday and came across a few quotes I attribute to my shepherd.

• In dying we live.
• On the cross the Innocent is condemned.
• Our Benefactor is put to death.
• The Righteous One dying for the unrighteous.
• The Lord of Glory hanging on a cross!

Under my 'Remember this:' I have written:

The cross shows us the horrors of sin and God's inflexible justice. It was absolutely necessary so that we might be saved. There was no other way. In fact, the cross displays God's absolute holiness, His absolute justice, and His overwhelming mercy.

It is good to be reminded about these things...and more frequently than just on Resurrection Sunday.

Thai Chicken in Coconut Milk

Next weekend I am preparing a gourmet luncheon for the students attending our daughter's photography class. The menu is: Thai chicken in coconut milk; rice; tomato chutney; spring garden salad with tangy bacon dressing. Sounds good, doesn't it? I think I could really get into catering fancy meals. We will be serving the class at my home on depression glassware (chop-house plates, salad plates, fruit bowls and dainty cups and saucers for tea or coffee.). Mmm, mmm, mmm!

Hallway of Memories

This past fall we visited Colorado Springs for an annual nationwide meeting of home school leaders. My mom worked at St. Frances Hospital in Colorado Springs during WWII so we decided to see if it was still in existence. It is, but most of it sits unused. This is a picture down one of the hallways my mom must have walked many times during those years. It was an eerie feeling to visit the empty building that was likely full of memories for my mother. I could almost hear the soft tapping of her nurse's shoes on the marble floors.

Table set for Resurrection Sunday Dinner.

Sanctifying Power of Suffering

In Sunday School we are talking about the sanctifying power of suffering. Oh, yeah! When we are tempted to pray with all diligence for the easy life--adequate money, excellent health, hosts of friends, to be smarter than a fifth grader, etc.- then we would do well to remember that the suffering allowed/sent into our lives by the Most High God, the Chief Shepherd, the Lord of Hosts, the Bread of Life, the Lover of our Souls is allowed/sent for the purpose of conforming us to the image of the Son. Yet I/we pray with perseverance to be released from the suffering not caring that it is working in us a kind of glory. Shame, shame on me.

I have never considered myself a sufferer, but I have had some pretty hard knocks in life. Most of my own doing and one can hardly blame God for those. But what niggles my brain is the fact that God may send (has sent?) to me suffering, not of my own doing. Well, to be honest, I'm not too keen on that idea. And yet, I have to say, I want to be like Jesus (I want to want to anyway!), but I fall far short...far, far short.

Even so I have this comfort knowing that the Christ who began a good work in me will complete it and someday-and this a good part--I will be free of suffering after it has done its good work in me. And the best part is that someday I will never sin again.

With trepidation and resistance mixed with a bit of whining I say, "Dear Lord, bring on the suffering if this is what it takes."

And I will trust You. I will trust You. I will trust You.