On my walk last night I was amazed at the smell of the fields. Near us are mostly alfalfa fields, but soy is across the road from us, and oats are up beyond the neighbors.
When I was little I took the sights and scents of my surroundings as my due. I never thought that the purity of air and the sweetness of grain was a luxury only country folk could know.
That the scents can change over the course of the season is even more alluring. I catch whiffs of wild plums, apples, crab apples, chokecherries, wildflowers, milkweed blossoms (so clean! like a bar of soap), and the ripening harvests.
Each evening there is a new aroma to detect, always pleasant.
There's a bit of horse manure in the air some nights, and to me that is no less desirable.
A couple of large bats accompanied me on my evening stroll. I wonder how Barney and Thelma and little Batty are doing up at the Cabin this year. They don't have our nightly campfires to dance around. The sky last night was striped pink, really gorgeous.
This morning I heard the cranes again. I looked out to the hayfield west of us and there was a pair, doing a crazy dance! One flew up, flapping, while the other observed---then the other one did a half-hearted hop in response. Later on they croaked above the house as they flew east. Huge birds. It's delightful to see and hear them.
Yesterday Ed went for a spinal tap. His counts were too low to continue his regular chemotherapy regimen, so we are on a hold for at least a couple of weeks. It could be a virus that is in his system, holding down the counts. He does have an occasional deep cough. A virus would affect him more than it would the rest of us.
We are still getting used to the added burden of dealing with his joint problem. More supplements, more swimming. Less walking. He tried to mow the other day at the Cabin, but gave up after an hour. Too much pain. Guess that is going to be a new thing to adjust to.
He can use a riding mower, though!
Stairs are difficult, so we end up doing them for him when something needs to be fetched. Good exercise for us. He can do them, but it's difficult. Glad our new home is mostly a ranch-type style, everything mostly on the main floor. Unexpected blessings, unanticipated needs met.
God does know best.
As I have alluded, this whole moving process was not on our agenda. Yes, we knew this house was going into foreclosure. No, we didn't know that it had sold four times before we made our offer. No, we didn't dream that it was all going to work out, obstacles falling to the right and left as we trod the path of purchasing a new home.
Remarkable, even to this day! I can sit here typing in full confidence that we are exactly where God wanted us to be. The Supernatural opening of doors was completely evident.
Lessons learned:
God really cares about you. The littlest details, even. His love is infinite, and He knows exactly what you need. Stop fighting Him! Let your desires be His desires, and trust Him to work out the details.
He has a sense of humor. Really. Be delighted in the personal touches He delights in. I smile every time I see an unexpected boon, either in this house or in the process of selling the Cabin.
Will things always be hunky-dory? No. We will get the cancers, lose the jobs, have petty disagreements, (big disagreements!), broken relationships, disappointments. That's life on earth.
Isn't it absolutely GRAND that we have eternal HOPE instead of despair? If you are a believer this life is as bad as it ever can get. If you aren't, it's the best it will ever be. (Sad thought)
And I see the ripening of time. Being a prophecy nut (self labelled) I am waking up every day to news that fits the ancient book's predictions. No, it wasn't always that way. Prophecy nuts have been looking for Jesus forever. The things that are described in Revelation are things that WILL happen, but we expect Christ first and foremost.
To see things happening that were prophesied is absolutely astounding and confirming. If you haven't read up on the ancient prophecies I suggest starting now. Time is RIPE. We are on a fast track toward its End.
The Bible talks about a 1,000 year time period:
Read Revelation 20. Satan will be bound for 1,000 years, and life on earth will continue in some form. This is after the "time of trouble," and after the age of the Church is past. It is something to look forward to, as a believer.
I think that age is coming soon. Satan has a counterfeit idea about it, "The Age of Aquarius," where everything is made right. Satan has counterfeit ideas about practically everything. Think about it.
The Bible teaches that only Christ can make things right. There is always a choice to believe the Bible, or your own ideas. As a young person I tended to dismiss the Biblical teachings that are called "Hard Sayings." I preferred to ignore them, crafting my own merry way, liking the things I liked.
I had a wake-up call one day. Do I believe myself or an ancient book?
Am I the authority, or is Scripture?
Do I believe the Bible over any other ancient teaching?
Am I willing to submit to the Creator, a Holy, Just, and Loving Being? The One True God? (Not Allah)
This is more than "asking Jesus into my heart." To submit was a true willful decision on my part.
I had to die to self. It didn't happen overnight, either. It was a process of combing out the nits of my own idolatry. I had to go back to the Bible like never before.
God gently leads when the spirit is willing. Faith is a growing phenomena. Really, now, how can we expect to understand a Being that is beyond description?
But we CAN know Him, and He wants that from us.
He pretty much lays it all down in His Word----the history, the rules, the grace, the fulfillment, the completely satisfying picture of what life really is all about. Meaning.
No doubts. No uncertainties, only the knowledge that I can't possibly comprehend this God who created everything. Yet He describes Himself as LOVE, and I do love Him.
I'm willing to be ripe for harvest, as Jesus described to his disciples 2,000 years ago. I think we are ready for it.
Are you?
When I was little I took the sights and scents of my surroundings as my due. I never thought that the purity of air and the sweetness of grain was a luxury only country folk could know.
That the scents can change over the course of the season is even more alluring. I catch whiffs of wild plums, apples, crab apples, chokecherries, wildflowers, milkweed blossoms (so clean! like a bar of soap), and the ripening harvests.
Each evening there is a new aroma to detect, always pleasant.
There's a bit of horse manure in the air some nights, and to me that is no less desirable.
A couple of large bats accompanied me on my evening stroll. I wonder how Barney and Thelma and little Batty are doing up at the Cabin this year. They don't have our nightly campfires to dance around. The sky last night was striped pink, really gorgeous.
This morning I heard the cranes again. I looked out to the hayfield west of us and there was a pair, doing a crazy dance! One flew up, flapping, while the other observed---then the other one did a half-hearted hop in response. Later on they croaked above the house as they flew east. Huge birds. It's delightful to see and hear them.
Yesterday Ed went for a spinal tap. His counts were too low to continue his regular chemotherapy regimen, so we are on a hold for at least a couple of weeks. It could be a virus that is in his system, holding down the counts. He does have an occasional deep cough. A virus would affect him more than it would the rest of us.
We are still getting used to the added burden of dealing with his joint problem. More supplements, more swimming. Less walking. He tried to mow the other day at the Cabin, but gave up after an hour. Too much pain. Guess that is going to be a new thing to adjust to.
He can use a riding mower, though!
Stairs are difficult, so we end up doing them for him when something needs to be fetched. Good exercise for us. He can do them, but it's difficult. Glad our new home is mostly a ranch-type style, everything mostly on the main floor. Unexpected blessings, unanticipated needs met.
God does know best.
As I have alluded, this whole moving process was not on our agenda. Yes, we knew this house was going into foreclosure. No, we didn't know that it had sold four times before we made our offer. No, we didn't dream that it was all going to work out, obstacles falling to the right and left as we trod the path of purchasing a new home.
Remarkable, even to this day! I can sit here typing in full confidence that we are exactly where God wanted us to be. The Supernatural opening of doors was completely evident.
Lessons learned:
God really cares about you. The littlest details, even. His love is infinite, and He knows exactly what you need. Stop fighting Him! Let your desires be His desires, and trust Him to work out the details.
He has a sense of humor. Really. Be delighted in the personal touches He delights in. I smile every time I see an unexpected boon, either in this house or in the process of selling the Cabin.
Will things always be hunky-dory? No. We will get the cancers, lose the jobs, have petty disagreements, (big disagreements!), broken relationships, disappointments. That's life on earth.
Isn't it absolutely GRAND that we have eternal HOPE instead of despair? If you are a believer this life is as bad as it ever can get. If you aren't, it's the best it will ever be. (Sad thought)
And I see the ripening of time. Being a prophecy nut (self labelled) I am waking up every day to news that fits the ancient book's predictions. No, it wasn't always that way. Prophecy nuts have been looking for Jesus forever. The things that are described in Revelation are things that WILL happen, but we expect Christ first and foremost.
To see things happening that were prophesied is absolutely astounding and confirming. If you haven't read up on the ancient prophecies I suggest starting now. Time is RIPE. We are on a fast track toward its End.
The Bible talks about a 1,000 year time period:
Read Revelation 20. Satan will be bound for 1,000 years, and life on earth will continue in some form. This is after the "time of trouble," and after the age of the Church is past. It is something to look forward to, as a believer.
I think that age is coming soon. Satan has a counterfeit idea about it, "The Age of Aquarius," where everything is made right. Satan has counterfeit ideas about practically everything. Think about it.
The Bible teaches that only Christ can make things right. There is always a choice to believe the Bible, or your own ideas. As a young person I tended to dismiss the Biblical teachings that are called "Hard Sayings." I preferred to ignore them, crafting my own merry way, liking the things I liked.
I had a wake-up call one day. Do I believe myself or an ancient book?
Am I the authority, or is Scripture?
Do I believe the Bible over any other ancient teaching?
Am I willing to submit to the Creator, a Holy, Just, and Loving Being? The One True God? (Not Allah)
This is more than "asking Jesus into my heart." To submit was a true willful decision on my part.
I had to die to self. It didn't happen overnight, either. It was a process of combing out the nits of my own idolatry. I had to go back to the Bible like never before.
God gently leads when the spirit is willing. Faith is a growing phenomena. Really, now, how can we expect to understand a Being that is beyond description?
But we CAN know Him, and He wants that from us.
He pretty much lays it all down in His Word----the history, the rules, the grace, the fulfillment, the completely satisfying picture of what life really is all about. Meaning.
No doubts. No uncertainties, only the knowledge that I can't possibly comprehend this God who created everything. Yet He describes Himself as LOVE, and I do love Him.
I'm willing to be ripe for harvest, as Jesus described to his disciples 2,000 years ago. I think we are ready for it.
Are you?
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