Sunshine On My Shoulders

Sunset at Waikiki, just because I need it

Perhaps it's this Houston heat wave with consistent upper 90's temperatures.

Or maybe it's because a young friend just moved to Hawaii, plastering her gorgeous photos all over Facebook.

I can't blame it on stress of kids being home for the summer. (I am an empty-nester, you know!)

It must be the vacuuming and mopping and e-mail answering and toilet bowl cleaning and dishwasher loading and washing and drying and folding. And...vacuuming and mopping and e-mail answering and toilet bowl cleaning and dishwasher loading and washing and drying and folding. And so forth.

SO...I am treating myself to a mini-respite...to reflect on that evening in 2009 right on Waikiki Beach, one of our memorable sunset memories with friends Gabe and Jeanie.

Ah-hhh...I needed that!

Most Sinful Part of the World

Recently, my husband came home asking me this interesting question, "Honey...do you know where the most sinful spot on the planet is?"

Deciding to humor him, I quipped, "Um-mm...Washington, DC? College campuses? Inside my refrigerator? Okay, how about Bangkok...or Los Angeles? Communist China?"

"No, no...think about it," he challenged me. "What is the MOST sinful location...on this planet?"

"This is most definitely one of his trick questions," I thought. "Just where is he headed with this one?"

It seems he had been meditating on this phrase from Micah 7:19, "thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea." THEREFORE, he deducted, the most sinful area would be at the deepest part of any ocean. And he challenged me to find out where the deepest part of the sea is located.

Oh boy...I LOVE a project! Especially when there is a bit of research involved. So...drum roll please...here is what I found. The deepest point in the Earth's oceans is called Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench (35,840 feet below sea level). Now, so you can imagine a teeny bit just how deep that it is, think about the highest mountain on Earth. If you could set Mount Everest into this ocean depth, it would still be covered by over one whole mile of water!

So...the next time you are tormented about your past sins...just remember the Challenger Deep...and how deep your sins have been cast! As the words express in the song  "Down Deep in the Sea,"

(My sins have been cast in the depths of the sea,)
Down deep in the sea;
(So deep they shall never be brought against me,)
Down deep in the sea.

(Down!) Down! (Down! Down!) Down in the depths of the sea,
The sins of the past, are all gone at l-a-st,
Down in the depths of the sea.

Lest you think I am LITERALLY saying that our sins are lurking around in some sort of subterranean demonic abyss, let me assure you I know this is figurative language...a magnificent word picture of Christ's forgiveness.

Corrie ten Boom says, "When we confess our sins, God casts them into the deepest ocean, gone forever. I believe God then places a sign out there that says, NO FISHING ALLOWED."

I have used Corrie's illustration for years, even designing a "No Fishing" craft for children.

Now I will add another illustration. We will find on our world map:

Latitude 11 degrees 19 minutes N.....Longitude 142 degrees 15 minutes E.

And we will marvel at God casting our sins into the depths of the sea! 

Delighting in Life

Monarch on my patio.

I've heard it said that those who stay younger and even healthier are the ones who are always anticipating what is ahead...as opposed to always looking back. When I first became an empty-nester, and was dealing with health issues as well...I got stuck living in the past, for a while. And thinking my life was nearly over. But when I allowed God to change my heart, He "quickened" my spirit, and set me on a course that causes me to be excited to get out of bed each day!

Birthday girl enjoying VBS.

The past few days I have delighted in:

• My granddaughter's first "blow-out" of a birthday party.
• Teaching VBS in my daughter's church...a circus theme...loads of fun!
• Beyond Opinion: Living the Life We Defend, another marvelous read by my favorite author, Ravi Zacharias.
• Making a huge batch of Texas Caviar.
• Finding "Mad About Jesus" Laboratories...can't wait to try some of those science object lessons!
• Taking my dog, Gypsy, for a swim in the Medina River.

Gypsy in the Medina River. 

I love this quote from Michelangelo, "Ancor imparo," (I am still learning). The best part of this quote is that Michelangelo was 87 years of age when he said it!

"Lord...help me to keep a learner's heart...looking to You with confidence, trusting that you are the author AND finisher of my faith." ~Hebrew 12:2

Happy Trails

My daughter and granddaughter with Roy Rogers' son and grandson.

This Saturday, July 24, is National Day of the Cowboy.

That event set me to thinking about our family's history with the "Singing Cowboy," Roy Rogers. When our daughter was a little tyke, we looked for wholesome movies for her to watch, and came upon some old Roy Rogers videos. She loved them, thus beginning her lifelong following of Roy and Dale Evans.

Although she was not in the "baby boomer," cowboy fan age group, Rebekah watched every movie available, read every book Dale ever wrote, collected recordings and became a trivia expert on anything concerning Roy Rogers. She even visited Dale's childhood home in Uvalde, Texas, sending Dale a photograph and beginning a correspondence with her and her daughter.

On a visit to California, she visited with Roy's family at the Roy Rogers Museum. And then we took her as an older teenager to Branson, Missouri, where she enjoyed the family show and the museum which had been moved to that state.

When she heard the museum would be closing, her husband surprised her by taking her and their new daughter for a farewell visit to Branson. Roy's son, Dusty, and his son treated her like part of the family.

The museum's contents are being sold off little by little. Trigger is to be sold this week...kind of fitting I suppose, concerning the National Day of the Cowboy.

My daughter would tell you, "Did you know that Roy always said that when he died, he wanted to be stuffed and placed beside Trigger?"

Rebekah has traded in her old Roy Rogers video collection for some newer DVD's. Her daughter, after all, must be introduced to her cowboy friend. This Saturday, on National Day of the Cowboy, we will celebrate her daughter's first birthday. And the "Happy Trails" tradition goes on.

The Thistle's Bloom

Thistle blooming in Bandera, Texas. 

Ugly old thistles stubbornly growing as wild prickly weeds all over the Texas prairies...yet transformed when graced with a lovely summertime bloom. That is why they are classified among Texas' wildflowers.

Don't you think there's a story there? What would your "Lesson from the Thistle" be? Leave me your comments, please!

A 3-Hour Tour

"Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip."

Well, not exactly a Gilligan's Island kind of cruise, but memorable nonetheless! My husband had to do a lot of navigating to surprise me for our 38th wedding anniversary. When we arrived for dinner at The Aquarium Restaurant in Kemah, I was shocked to see family and friends assembled, grinning from ear to ear. It took a bit for it to sink in...why was friend Al there?...AHHH...he was there as "Skipper." Al has a "tiny ship," a 38-foot sailboat, and our "tropic port" was just outside the restaurant there in Kemah.

After indulging in a scrumptious seafood meal, we set off for our "3-hour tour," a spectacular sunset cruise. Instead of the fateful 5, there were 8 of us. And it was delightful for all...except Gabe...who discovered why he was an Air Force man instead of a Navy guy. The big tough guy was green around the gills the whole time. Helping with the sails and steering was quite an adventure.

My daughter set one of her signature, lovely tables below deck, complete with gifts, snacks, her homemade Lemon Meringue Cupcakes, fresh flowers...and bottles of our favorite iced teas.

The anniversary years keep sailing on...and #38 will be happily remembered as our "3-Hour Tour" year, another of our spectacular sunset memories...thanks to the efforts of a "Skipper brave and sure," and his loving crew.

It's been a while!

At our house, it has been ages since...

Happy Meals, matchbox cars, jumping on the bed, scooters in the driveway, ScoobyDoo underwear and...

 
Balloon racers.

"Watch what I can do!" "Could I have a drink of water?" Knock-knock jokes, bug bites and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

 
And science experiments.

Not only pug tug-of-war, helium balloons on the ceiling, UNO and precious bedtime prayers, but also...

 
Ice cream in the house (mint chocolate chip, to be precise).

 
 
Or a good kids read-aloud (this time, Owls in the Family, one of our past family favorites!).

Yes...it has been far too long. Five days experiencing kids in the house again. You've got to love it!

Turn loose of those cookies!

Be sure your sin will find you out, Jeremy!

While teaching a series on Christ's command to "Repent," I used this illustration, adapted from a lesson called "The Cookie Jar."

Jeremy's mom caught him red-handed...with his hand stuck in the cookie jar.

"I can't get my hand our of the jar, Mom!" Jeremy lamented.

"Well son...if you turn loose of those cookies...your hand will not be stuck anymore."

And when he turned loose of the fistful of cookies, his hand easily slid out.

Isn't that what we need to do to repent? We must not just be sorry to get caught...we must be willing to "turn loose" of our sin.

Red-headed Wesley, made hairy by a kangaroo hide, made a great Esau.

Which is why Esau, though he sought with tears, did not find a place of repentance. And why David, who also sought with tears after his great sin, did find forgiveness with God. God sees into the heart...and He knows when we "turn loose" of our sin.

Think about it. And go get yourself some Oreo cookies to teach repentance to your class!

The B-I-B-L-E

 

When Dave and I composed this photo, we did not see the branches outside the window which formed the shape of a cross. What a nice surprise...the shadow of a cross...and how appropriate. For is was because of Calvary's cross that so many paid so much to put the English Bible into the hands of the common man.

When I teach the amazing history of the Bible, I love to pull out items I have collected through the years, such as:

• A Replica of the Rosetta Stone.
• Sheets of papyrus from Egypt.
• A Gutenberg Press replica, built-to-scale by my husband, Dave.
• A facsimile page from a Gutenberg Bible, printed in the workshop of the Gutenberg-Museum of Mainz, and purchased during a Germany vacation. (That was my most favorite field trip ever!)
• A huge Gutenberg Bible page, actually printed by my son years ago, on a replica press, here in Houston at our wonderful Museum of Printing History.

Sometimes I will:

• Use flash paper for a dramatic attention-getter when teaching about those who were burned at the stake.
• Show Biblical paintings of the great masters, not always Scripturally correct, but nonetheless used as the only source of Bible stories for masses of people (who needed the Scriptures in their own hands, in their own language...not chained up in the churches, and read by only the well-educated).

I could go on and on, for I get so excited just thinking about this subject! However, there is a thought that will not leave me.

In those days gone by, people had to be "told" what the Scriptures said. Can you imagine the joy of a true believer upon receiving his first Bible, and reading God's inspired Word for himself?

Today, we need not wait around for someone to "tell" us what the Scriptures mean. We can read and study them for ourselves. Studying the Bible has changed my life! (Author of The Heavenly Man, Chinese Bro. Yun says, "You can never really know the Scriptures until you are willing to be changed by them.") That's why I encourage Inductive Bible Study through Precept Ministries, International. This method encourages you to examine God's Word on your own, and let God do the speaking...and teaching.

Yes, we will have to pay a bit of a price. We will need to "lay down our life," rearranging our priorities... in order to gain more of Christ.

Unfortunately, it appears that even today's masses, with numerous Bibles at our fingertips, and despite the great cost our forefathers paid to give us the Scriptures in our language, still depend upon someone else to inform them what God's Word means. A "dark ages" mentality, I call it. Now...might that be a reason for the lack of power within our churches these days?