Tag Archives: Family

Oh That You Would Bless Me Indeed!

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These words are from the book, “The Prayer of Jabez” by Bruce Wilkinson, taken from 1 Chronicles 4:10 (NKJV).

“Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!” So God granted him what he requested.

Let me tell you what happened to me within a nine year period of repeating that prayer:

Two grandsons were added to my twelve grandchildren, seven girls and five boys, evening up the genders. Five of these granddaughters blessed me with nine great-grandchildren with a tenth due in November.

I became an Elder in my church and have fifteen families in my territory, and am available for prayer, information, or help in some way. As a member of our Pastoral Care team there are many opportunities to be of service to those who experience some of life’s difficulties as shut-ins, hospital patients and long-term care residents.

In between times I survived lung cancer, a heart attack, and the death of a spouse. Several other health issues have assailed me over the years and I’m still here.

As you can see, my territory has been enlarged, His hand has been with me, and I have been blessed indeed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steeple Space

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I love how the steeple has its own space amid the trees. This is where I spend my Sundays with my church family, one of whom took this photo; another instance of seeing more than you are looking at. Surely the Lord is in this place. Genesis 28:16

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Barefoot Over the Bridge

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Walking down the aisle is no longer the only road to matrimony, it seems. On Saturday I watched my granddaughter, Courtney, walk barefoot over a wooden bridge, in her princess wedding gown, accompanied by her proud dad, to stand by Matt, the man she intends to spend the rest of her life with. The lake water lapped and glistened as if in symphony with the nature of this outdoor wedding.

Everything else was traditional in a sense. The wedding party, beautiful in their pastel gowns and gray suits, waited for the bride to take her place beside her groom and the service began.

It was both solemn and sweet as this special couple took their vows having eyes for only each other. I’m not sure whether the vows they repeated were written by themselves or the minister who performed the ceremony, but I do know that Saint Paul wrote the following words of love in 1 Corinthians 13:

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.8 Love never fails… 13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

These words have been repeated at many wedding ceremonies over the centuries and my heart filled with love for the young couple hearing them now, probably for the very first time. I hope their love will remain as alive as it was on Saturday when Matthew watched his bride walking toward him,..barefoot over the bridge.

 

 

In This House

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While shopping in some quaint and unique out of town shops, I discovered a sign with the following words:

In This House…We do second chances…we do grace…we do mistakes…we do real…we do I’m sorry…we do loud really well…WE DO HUGS…we do love…we do family…

I liked it enough to share it here…

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A Map for a Muse

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Breakfast in Italy, lunch in Austria, dinner in Bavaria…three meals in one day, in three different countries…it was a trip of a lifetime.

In October 2004, my youngest daughter who lives in the Channel Islands was running a marathon in Venice. We began our journey in Jersey, traveled by ferry to Saint Malo, France, and on to Venice where Lynn completed her marathon in less than four hours, which was her goal. Our travels included the Italian and Swiss Alps and a tour of Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria. .Everyone except me ventured onto the Marion Bridge. For one thing it was too high, and being a suspension bridge there was too much swaying for my liking. I stayed behind and hugged a tree.

In Paris we of course went up the Eiffel Tower, visited the Louvre Museum, Notre Dame Cathedral and strolled the Champs-Elysees.

The final stop on our tour was Normandy Landing Beaches. I felt a mixture of sadness and triumph as the story of that era was unveiled during our brief stop there.

My son-in-law, Brian, provided the following map, which I have chosen for Day Seventeen in the #everydayinspiration assignment, “A Map as Your Muse”.  The purple outline shows our route. This assignment brought back many wonderful memories and I am happy to relive them.

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