Ocean Floor

I gathered my scriptures and my crumbs and walked to edge of the ocean today...

The American Senate took the day off today for Rosh Hashanah in the midst of a financial crisis on Wall Street. Someone asked me, "What's the big deal?" Well, that was enough to get me digging into the Jewish holiday. What I found out was pretty cool! Here's what I found out from Howard and Rosenthal's The Feasts of the LORD...

• Rosh Hashanah is the biblical Feast of Trumpets. A celebration based upon a musical instrument? Yup.


• The trumpet was used for the nation of Israel to (1) gather an assembly before the LORD (2) sound a battle alarm and (3) announce the coronation of a new king. Ummmmmm, interesting.


• Modern observance described in the book include "The Days of Awe", "Prayers of Repentance", "The Casting Ceremony", "The Shofar".


• The Days of Awe--the ten day period between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are a time of self-examination and judgement.


• Prayers of Repentance--prayers of forgiveness


• The Casting Ceremony--symbolizes the shedding of one's sins. A ceremony that takes place beside a body of water where a brief Tashlikh prayer composed of Hebrew Scriptures (Micah 7:18-20; Ps 118:5-9; Ps 33; Ps 130 and Is 11:9) is prayed. Micah 7:19 states that "You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea." So after the prayer, it is customary to toss bread crumbs into the water as a symbol of ridding oneself of sin.


• The Shofar--a ram's horn which is a reminder of God's deliverance of Isaac by a ram caught in a thicket by its horn. I found in the Life Application Bible note for Revelation 8:6 that the purposes for the trumpet blasts are "(1) to warn that judgment is certain; (2) to call the forces of good and evil to battle, and (3) announce the return of the King, the Messiah." Ummmmm, VERY interesting.

The single most amazing thing I found was that "The Feast of Trumpets is next on Israel's prophetic calendar. Israel's four springtime holidays...were fulfilled in connection with the Messiah's first coming. Israel's three autumn holidays...will be filled at His second coming."

Double Dimes

I have this great dimes story...two dimes...one story.

My son and I hopped on a plane and went to see his big sister, my first born and only daughter. He is actually my second born and only son. (That makes each one of them an "only"). I was feeling pretty lucky to have some special time with my two! Gosh, I'm crazy about them.

We were crashing at her apartment for a couple of days before the 4th of July. I never want to be a burden and I try real hard to be invited back (or have her accept when I invite myself!!), so I try to look for ways to earn my keep when I am there. So, when she goes to work I do things like clean out the kitty litter or scrub the floors. She always mildly protests, "Oh, Mamma, you shouldn't have!"...while thinking "But I'm glad you did!!" Well, I'm scrubbing the bathroom floor when, wedged between the tile and the baseboard, I see the edge of a dime peeking out at me. I nearly dropped my mop! I did, however, drop to my knees and dig it out with my fingernail. (By the way, I owe you a dime, sweetie!)

Fast forward a couple of days. She has a few days off over the 4th, so we take a roadtrip to the beach. After soaking up some sun and sweating on the sand, we decide it is a must that we slide into our favorite seaside restraunt for some spuds. My two get a table while I invest a fortune in the parking meter and flip flop my way to their table. And guess what was right there smack dab in the middle of the table between them? That's right...a big fat dime, probably left over from a tip. I snatched it up. (I hope I remembered to add that 10 cents to my tip. If not, I'm indebted for another dime.)

Y'see, I have this friend who has a great dime story. She told me when she is feeling insecure about whether God is paying attention, if He even cares, she prays for dimes. Yep, the ten cent variety. She heard it from a friend, who heard it from her grandpa. So, anyway, after she told me that story, without praying the prayer, I found a dime. Wow! Got my attention.

Now when I find a dime, I thank God for reminding me that He is here. He does care. He is faithful. When I get to heaven, I think I'll ask to see the dime bank...

Creativity

I talk to animals. Not just pets like dogs and cats. I talk to deer and chipmunks. I even talked to an armadillo once. Only one time because I've only seen a live one once. People who like me say I'm creative. People who don't, say I'm weird.
I think all people are creative. Some more than others. I guess you could say that makes us all weird--some more than others.

My daughter is an amazingly creative person (that means I'm one of the people who like her, which I do.) Yesterday she called me. When I get a call instead of a text that means she is experiencing an emotional minute or is extremely bored. She was emotional this time.

Someone destroyed her art work. She is diversely creative. Her work includes sculpture, photography, graphic design, painting, and so on. Irreplaceable. Every one of them. Cherished. A part of her. Gone forever in some dumpster. Someone mistakenly thought she didn't care.
That's the way your Creator feels about you. He created you and you are a part of Him. Cherished. Irreplaceable. If you think He doesn't care about you, you are wrong. Don't throw yourself or let anyone else throw you in the dumpster.
The good thing is, if you end up in a dumpster, He will pick through each and every one until He finds you. He'll even wash away the rubbish that you picked up while you were in there. How do I know that? He did it for me.

Doggone It!

Don't you just hate it when you set yourself up for someone to say "I told you so"? It seems I've mastered that art.

My husband and I have taken up jogging. (People ask if we run, but what we do is really too slow to be considered a run, so we opt for the term jogging.) People usually have one of two responses when we share that we have chosen this as our mode of fitness. They either say "Me too!"...or "uggggggghhh".

The groan usually means they cannot understand why anyone would want to put their body through that kind of torture for so little excitement. But, I also wonder if they are considering the hazards associated with the sport. Dogs for one.

Now out in the country, most dogs are outdoor pets; so, they are often left unattended with unlimited roaming capabilities. On my favorite out-and-back route near our home, we only have a couple of collies who greet us as we pass. Direct descendants of Lassie, I'm sure. Look just like her!

But dogs aren't a problem for me. I love dogs. They love me. No problem.

Or so I thought. One day after we returned from a jog, my husband told me to be careful. On today's jog the collies had been joined by a German shepard. He warned me that adding the third canine to the mix might change the dynamics.

My brother has three German shepards. I like German shepards. They like me. No problem.

A couple of days later, I decided to do a solo out-and-back. I got to the lane that belongs to the collies and noticed that we are back to just the two lassies. Or so I thought.

As I am smuggly cooing to the two, telling them how beautiful and brave they are. That they make such good greeters, I am greeted from behind by the shepard. He announces his presence to me when his teeth grab my back right cheek.

Doggone it! He told me so!

My fatal mistake? Not recognizing the presence of evil. Being ignorant of it or failing to acknowledge it does not make it disappear. I've learned a few things about the evil one since that episode.

One thing about Evil, he is patient to wait for the perfect setup before launching an attack. Evil uses the element of surprise. Pretty effective.

Another fingerprint of Evil...isolation. Evil likes to have the odds in his favor. He likes to disguise himself by blending in with seemingly innocent allies to divert our attention so that he can execute his plan.

And have you noticed, Evil does not play fair? There is no honor code or ethical behavior he feels obligated to abide by. His goal is to kill and destroy. He'll sneak up behind you and bite you in the butt.

You've been warned. Please don't make me say "I told you so."

Extremes

What is it about the human race that we seem to crave extremes? Now this may sound a little odd from one of the most conservative and "safe" people in the universe--those who know me will attest to that. But I must confess that underneath the surface is a part of me that craves excitement.

We see evidence of this thrill seeking woven into the fiber of our society. Amusement parks offer bigger, faster, longer, higher roller coasters that push us to the limit. In addition to our traditional sports, we have extreme sports. We see threads of it in more dangerous outlets such as drugs and alcohol. As a species we seem to thrive on thrills. We want higher highs. Why?

When the blood is pounding through our veins and the adrenaline is pumping, we feel. It confirms that we exist. We live so much of our lives cocooned in our comfort zone. Occasionally we want to feel something. Anything. To know that we are not numb.

God created us with this desire. Why? So that we do crazy things that threaten our very lives? No. So that we will seek Him. Do you know that He is the epitome of extreme?

I didn't know this about Him at first. At first I thought He was the rule of restraint...all of those "Thou shalt nots" in the Ten Commandments. What I have come to know is that for each of those "thou shalt nots", He extends so many more thrilling challenges.

When was the last time you walked on the water? Have you ever crossed the sea on a dry river bed while the waters roared on either side of you? Have you ever taken a cruise on a boat filled with animals? Water rides not your favorite amusement park attraction? How about being swept up into the sky on a chariot of fire drawn by horses of fire?

Not impressed by the biblical stories? Think that was then, and you are now and you want some personal now stories? That's the thing about thrills. We want to own them for ourselves. The good news is that you can. Follow Jesus around. Accept His invitations.

He is the epitome of extremes. He is a lion and a lamb. He is the first and the last. He became man and remained God.

When It All Comes To An End

This journey as we know it will someday come to an end. Most agree on that. We may not agree on how it all started--creation or evolution or a mixture of both. So it is with the ending. Everyone seems to have a theory as to the how and the when of earth's demise. Will it be caused by global warming? Is the year 2012 the last calendar we will need?

It's a topic that seems to arise more and more often these days. Not surprising since the Y2K thing and 9/11. Also it is a fact that every day that passes brings us one day closer to the end.

There are a lot of opinions out there. People are making money selling books and booking speeches. So what's a person to believe? We live in an age of information, but with no guarantees as to how accurate that information is. Blogging itself proves that it doesn't take much to write something and put it out there for others to read.

Logic tells us to pick a source that has a good track record. Find a theory that has a good, reliable history of predicting the future and seeing it come to pass exactly as predicted. I have found a book that hasn't been wrong yet. Honestly. How can it do this? Because the author is the source of the prophecy. He is not merely predicting these events, He is promising them. He has predicted the rise and fall of empires over the ages and was right 100% of the time. He can predict it because He promised it would happen. And He always does what He promises.

In the Old Testament, Daniel studied the scriptures to see what God said about the future (Daniel 9:1-2). He knew what God had spoken through His prophet Jeremiah. He prayed, seeking understanding, and was prepared for what came next because he knew what God had promised.

We can do the same thing today. By studying the written word of God, by conversing with the living God, we can be prepared for what is to come. So what does the Bible tell us about the end times? We need to look at the big picture not just isolated writings in order to better understand.
The book of Revelation in the New Testament is the largest body of writings describing what is to come, but it is not the only end times scriptures. End times events are also foretold in Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Joel, Micah, Zechariah, Matthew, and Luke.

We can know for sure that it will happen "...and then the end will come" Matthew 24:14b. We can't know for sure when it will happen. "No one knows about the day or hour...Therefore, keep watch, because you do not know on what day your LORD will come." Matthew 24:36a, 42.

The exact time of His return will be a surprise; but He has told us what to watch for so that we will know when His return is imminent.

Here Once

A friend has "HERE ONCE" inscribed on his knuckles. The reason for this came up in a recent conversation. He explained that his philosophy of life is that we are only HERE ONCE; therefore, we should make it count.

He reflected on his own life and said the season that he felt was the most rewarding was when he helped out at a youth camp. He honestly felt that he had something to give to those young people, so he gave himself to them. He shared his experiences. Even the tough ones. He has had plenty of those. What's amazing is that he didn't use them as an excuse. He used them as tools. Tools to help others build a better life.

There is something deep inside each of us that cries out to make a difference while we are HERE. That's because God created us each for a purpose. Discovering that purpose and living it out can make what we do HERE (as well as in the HEREAFTER) rewarding.

This purpose is not such a hard discovery if you think about it. My friend did. You take what you have been given, the good along with the bad, and you use them as tools to give of yourself to help others. You make a difference.

We are only HERE ONCE and the decisions and the choices we make HERE will affect our lives in the HEREAFTER. The most important choice we make in this life is choosing whether or not we will receive God's gift of salvation. That choice during our HERE ONCE will determine where we live in the HEREAFTER FOREVER.

A Stop At The Depot

Random conversations with random people. It's amazing the impact a few thoughts and words shared among strangers can produce. The topic was life. Common ground for uncommon people.

A common question of "What do you want to do with your life?" got us started. Indecision over this question can cause us to wander aimlessly...always going somewhere with no idea where we are going. Hopes and dreams being hoped and dreamed, but with no real plan on how we are going to get there.

Although chosen career paths varied, a common interest in the arts surfaced. We discovered that we all shared the experience of using our bodies as a canvas. Although our artists were different; they all practiced their art from the same location. Even discovered that they had a friend who shared my daughter's desire to sculpt metal into art. His work had greeted us as we entered the tattoo shop. Some would say it is a small world.

In the course of our conversation, my daughter confessed that she was intimidated to share her art. By displaying your art, you bare a part of your soul. I know what she means. That's how I feel when I share something I have written.

As we parted, one of the members of our group encouraged me to write. I confessed I wasn't sure I had anything to write about. He suggested I use the night's conversation as my material. So I did.

Inked

People who know my daughter ask "Why an iris?" The people who know me ask "Why a tattoo?!?" Easy answer, "Because I said I would."

In January I participated in a leadership training at my church that was entitled "inked: deep enough to make it permanent". We talked about going deeper--beyond the surface--engaging in relationships with others that go deep enough to make them permanent. A lady at my table shared with us that she and her daughter had matching body art. I told her if my daughter ever asked me, I would.

That's the kind of relationship I want to have with my daughter--one that is deep enough that it is permanent. I don't mean biologically deep, I mean emotionally deep. Biologically we will always be related. I am part of her DNA. But I want more. I want our emotional bond to go beyond the surface. I want her to be able to share anything with me and know deep within her soul that I love her unconditionally.

That's the kind of relationship I know with my heavenly Father. I haven't always known it. It used to be only a surface relationship--my fault, not His. It wasn't until I trusted Him with all my junk that I learned deep down in my soul, that He loves me unconditionally.

He taught me how to love this way. The Father asked His son, Jesus, to let the nails go deep enough to make it permanent. Jesus agreed. They love me that much; they love you that much.

So, when my daughter asked, I said I would. I love her that much.

Iris

It all started when a friend showed me her mother/daughter
tattoo. I knew that if my daughter ever suggested that we get mother/daughter tattoos, that I would get inked for her. Well, she asked, and we did. We have matching purple iris tattoos.


Why an iris? We tend to move around a lot...can't seem to stay put for too long at a time. One of my daughter's memories about all of those relocations is that with each move we would dig up a few iris bulbs passed down from my maternal grandmother. We would carefully dig up the bulbs and when we arrived in our new location, we would begin putting down our roots by planting our iris.


She recently moved into a new place. Springtime cries out for new beginnings and new growth, so we traveled together to a garden center and purchased purple iris to plant on either side of her porch steps. All who enter are greeted by their purple petals...new beginnings rooted deeply in memorable traditions.