Many years ago I gave a New Scofield Reference Bible to my hubby before he came back to the Lord and the church. He had been back slid since he left home and went to college. The Lord had given me a promise right after our son was born that hubby would come back to the Lord; it took 15 years. That book was a big influence in his decision to come back. Since he is an electrical engineer, I knew he would enjoy this bible with many references.
While growing up his mother took him to church and left him so he grew up with many misconceptions about the church and he didn’t learn anything about the bible. The church that I grew up in had a Sunday School where I learned a lot even though at that time I really wasn’t interested, I was more interested in my social life. In reading the bible my hubby learned the “truth”
In the same way many Catholics who have come to our church, who after reading the bible, realized that they were lied to all their lives by the Catholic Church.
John 8:31-32: “Then said Jesus to those Jews who believed in him, ‘If ye continue in my word, then are you my disciples indeed: and you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.’” I challenge those of you who have never read the bible to do so, it could be a life changing experience.
A merry day to you from The Merry Heart
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Friday, November 23, 2007
MY AGE OLD OR OLD AGE MINISTRY
I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I sure did! I had a Thanksgiving lunch with my mother-in-law at her nursing home. I knew that I had a ministry with the “residents” but only just recently realized how enjoyable it has become. The “ladies” is how I would like to refer to them, not residents or patients, how I used to refer to them. All these ladies are in their 90s and one in her early 100s. When you take the time to listen to them and interact with them you find out they are still the people they used to be, they just cannot express themselves any more. Most of them still have a sense of humor or express themselves in such a way as to be humourous without them know it. It is amazing how gracious and thankful these ladies are whenever you do any little thing for them. Most of these ladies never have anyone visit them on a daily basis like my mother-in-law has so I always try and talk with them for a little while. One lady when she sees me, motions for me to come to her and would like to have a conversation so she says. But sadly it is hard to do that when you are in a nursing home with nothing to stimulate your mind. Everyone has something wrong, loss of hearing, unable to speak much, can’t speak loud enough, etc., so it makes it hard for them to communicate unless you want to talk about the same thing all the time. Maybe that is why I enjoy it so much, don’t have to be an expert in conversing!
My mother-in-law has her second roommate, the first, oh! I forget her name! Anyway I got to see her on her death bed and thought it was beautiful! She was going home! Something I long for with all my heart, to be out of this sinful crazy world! Her present roommate is very delightful but very forgetful. First time I met her, I introduced myself and said that my mother-in-law was her roommate. She said she was glad to hear that because no one ever told her anything. Today at the table we were discussing the Thanksgiving day meal, pretty soon another delightful lady joins us at the table and I tell her it is Thanksgiving as they never know what day it is. And Mother’s roommate said, “Oh, I didn’t know it was Thanksgiving”!
I call my mother-in-law, “mother”, always have, as she has always been special to me. I knew that she was to be a ministry to me after her husband passed away about 4 years ago and she has been in this home for about 3 years now. I makes me feel good whenever my husband visits her and says that she asks what I am doing. Just recently our son, his wife and their little daughter went to visit her and she asked what I was doing! I wouldn’t think that she would even think about me when she hasn’t seen her grandson and great-granddaughter in a long time.
All these ladies have their special idiosyncracies, one is always humming, sits straight up on the couch and watches t.v. all day, no problem to anyone. One wants to escape from the place because she feels neglected by the staff so I try to comfort her and talk to her. One asked me for the phone number of the police department when she first came as “she was stranded”, but she has adjusted to living there as she realizes she needs the help she gets there. The 100 year old still gets around with her walker but can hardly hear. She and Mother sit next to each other at the table and even though they cannot communicate, they are the best of friends!
It makes me feel really good when I go in there and I can give comfort to these ladies and help break the monotony of the day. It lifts my spirit when they are being funny and don’t realize it as I realize that someday I will be in that same situation unless the Lord comes back first.
A merry day to you from the merry heart.
My mother-in-law has her second roommate, the first, oh! I forget her name! Anyway I got to see her on her death bed and thought it was beautiful! She was going home! Something I long for with all my heart, to be out of this sinful crazy world! Her present roommate is very delightful but very forgetful. First time I met her, I introduced myself and said that my mother-in-law was her roommate. She said she was glad to hear that because no one ever told her anything. Today at the table we were discussing the Thanksgiving day meal, pretty soon another delightful lady joins us at the table and I tell her it is Thanksgiving as they never know what day it is. And Mother’s roommate said, “Oh, I didn’t know it was Thanksgiving”!
I call my mother-in-law, “mother”, always have, as she has always been special to me. I knew that she was to be a ministry to me after her husband passed away about 4 years ago and she has been in this home for about 3 years now. I makes me feel good whenever my husband visits her and says that she asks what I am doing. Just recently our son, his wife and their little daughter went to visit her and she asked what I was doing! I wouldn’t think that she would even think about me when she hasn’t seen her grandson and great-granddaughter in a long time.
All these ladies have their special idiosyncracies, one is always humming, sits straight up on the couch and watches t.v. all day, no problem to anyone. One wants to escape from the place because she feels neglected by the staff so I try to comfort her and talk to her. One asked me for the phone number of the police department when she first came as “she was stranded”, but she has adjusted to living there as she realizes she needs the help she gets there. The 100 year old still gets around with her walker but can hardly hear. She and Mother sit next to each other at the table and even though they cannot communicate, they are the best of friends!
It makes me feel really good when I go in there and I can give comfort to these ladies and help break the monotony of the day. It lifts my spirit when they are being funny and don’t realize it as I realize that someday I will be in that same situation unless the Lord comes back first.
A merry day to you from the merry heart.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Joys of Growing Older
Oh, the joys of growing older. Your desires, wants, and needs are dictated for you by the time clock of your body. We have to do this, do that, don’t do that, eat this, don’t eat that, yet “Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day”, 2 Corinthians 4:16. That is why I don’t feel a day over 21 while going to be 70 next March. Or at least most of the time I feel 21! Sometimes your doctor becomes your best friend when he keeps telling you that something is wrong with you and he wants to give you a pill. So far I am only taking one prescription medicine. A few times my doctor has wanted to give me a pill but I refused as I wanted God to help me on this issue and He is.
My husband and are both diabetics so after much trial and error, we pretty much have reduced our diet down to just vegetables, meats and a few fruit. We can’t enjoy all those “soul comfort foods” that we used to indulge in where we packed on the pounds! But we find that we don’t really miss those “soul comfort foods” as we feel so much better, “our inward being”. We must exercise, which our body, “outwardly part”, doth protest. But we find that we feel so much better. We must keep a good mental attitude, “inward being”, or we will languish but we find that we feel so much better. Proverbs 17:22, “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed Spirit dries up the bones”.
Another thing that we must do is to exercise the brain, “inward being”, or we will develop dementia or alzheimers disease or much worse like you put many sheets of Kleenex through the wash! I never used to do that but lately I have begun to notice a few bits of them once in a while and I always blamed my husband but then I usually blame my husband when things go wrong, I couldn’t have done that! And he is so convenient to blame! One of his jobs around the house is to wash the clothes and put them away. Sometimes I do my own clothes when I have certain things that I wish to do myself which I did the other day. Lo and behold, my wash was awash with bits and pieces of Kleenex and even whole pieces of clean Kleenex! I couldn’t believe that I had progressed to the point where I washed many sheets of Kleenex clean! I know that I checked all the pockets! As I took out articles of clothing, I kept finding pieces or whole Kleenex! There was no way that I could pin this on my husband since obviously I had done my own clothes. So obviously I must have done it, so humbly I acknowledge that it was my fault and not my husband’s and obviously I must exercise my brain more. I know that I checked all the pockets!
A merry day to you from the merry heart!
My husband and are both diabetics so after much trial and error, we pretty much have reduced our diet down to just vegetables, meats and a few fruit. We can’t enjoy all those “soul comfort foods” that we used to indulge in where we packed on the pounds! But we find that we don’t really miss those “soul comfort foods” as we feel so much better, “our inward being”. We must exercise, which our body, “outwardly part”, doth protest. But we find that we feel so much better. We must keep a good mental attitude, “inward being”, or we will languish but we find that we feel so much better. Proverbs 17:22, “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed Spirit dries up the bones”.
Another thing that we must do is to exercise the brain, “inward being”, or we will develop dementia or alzheimers disease or much worse like you put many sheets of Kleenex through the wash! I never used to do that but lately I have begun to notice a few bits of them once in a while and I always blamed my husband but then I usually blame my husband when things go wrong, I couldn’t have done that! And he is so convenient to blame! One of his jobs around the house is to wash the clothes and put them away. Sometimes I do my own clothes when I have certain things that I wish to do myself which I did the other day. Lo and behold, my wash was awash with bits and pieces of Kleenex and even whole pieces of clean Kleenex! I couldn’t believe that I had progressed to the point where I washed many sheets of Kleenex clean! I know that I checked all the pockets! As I took out articles of clothing, I kept finding pieces or whole Kleenex! There was no way that I could pin this on my husband since obviously I had done my own clothes. So obviously I must have done it, so humbly I acknowledge that it was my fault and not my husband’s and obviously I must exercise my brain more. I know that I checked all the pockets!
A merry day to you from the merry heart!
Sacrifices to God
The other day I made a sacrifice to the Lord. No, I didn’t burn an animal on the altar. I gave up something for the sake of something of greater value, a definition found in my husband’s old college dictionary from the 1950's. Sounds like Lent, but since I’m not Catholic, it was not Lent. I just learned from this same dictionary that Lent is the 40 day period from Ash Wednesday to Easter, observed in some churches by fasting and penitence to commemorate Jesus’ fasting in the Wilderness. I didn’t know it was to commemorate Jesus’ fast, learn something everyday. It could be a worthy cause if done for the right purpose.
Some time back a friend had invited me to her small prayer group at her house but I declined since it started at 8:00 in the morning. I do not make appointments ever before 9:00 since I have insomnia and if I do not get enough sleep, I take a nap after breakfast and usually get up around 8:30. However, recently, I felt compelled to go but knew that I would have to sacrifice my sleep.
But I really do need that nap to get through the day so I asked God to give me enough sleep so as to be able to go to this prayer group. And the Lord did just that!
For those of you who do not know as well as me, Ash Wednesday according to this same dictionary is “the first day of Lent and 7th Wednesday before Easter; so called from the practice of putting ashes on the forehead as a sign of penitence”. I use this old dictionary as the definitions are closer to the original meanings intended by Webster who founded the first dictionary in the English language.
A merry day to you from the Merry Heart
Some time back a friend had invited me to her small prayer group at her house but I declined since it started at 8:00 in the morning. I do not make appointments ever before 9:00 since I have insomnia and if I do not get enough sleep, I take a nap after breakfast and usually get up around 8:30. However, recently, I felt compelled to go but knew that I would have to sacrifice my sleep.
But I really do need that nap to get through the day so I asked God to give me enough sleep so as to be able to go to this prayer group. And the Lord did just that!
For those of you who do not know as well as me, Ash Wednesday according to this same dictionary is “the first day of Lent and 7th Wednesday before Easter; so called from the practice of putting ashes on the forehead as a sign of penitence”. I use this old dictionary as the definitions are closer to the original meanings intended by Webster who founded the first dictionary in the English language.
A merry day to you from the Merry Heart
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Beginning Thoughts
This is my very first time to be on the Blog with the help of my very efficient computer guru husband of 41 years. Good thing as I don’t have to try and find out what I did wrong and correct it which I never could do as I am a novice computer person. I have two children, married, who live in different parts of the country so we don’t see them very often. I am happy to be the grandmother of three most precious and very smart, of course, young grandchildren and expecting a fourth in the near future. I didn’t expect when we got married that we would survive to our 40th year or that I would be celebrating my 70th birthday next March which I am going to celebrate with a big bash!
As for my Christian influence I grew up in the Baptist Church but changed over to Assemblies of God Church when our daughter went to school in the fourth grade as well as our son in the fourth grade also. My experiences in the Baptist Church are quite different from my experiences in the Assemblies of God Church which I shall relate sometime in the near future. I learned a lot in the Baptist Sunday School but they seem to have no power so I will be explaining why I think that is so.
Some time back I felt like the Lord was impressing upon me to do some blogging as my ministry now as my son and his wife also do blogging. My son does it as a witness and she blogs about the family. But I knew that He would impress me to blog when something earth shaking came along and now that something has occurred so I am very excited to be doing this for my Lord.
I would be very happy for you to go on a journey with me to explore my Christianity. These will be my own observations of what I have gleaned from being a Christian for many years, not necessarily all good years of living out my Christian faith or correctly interpreting the Bible. But as a little child learns to walk one step at a time, so does becoming a mature Christian involve one step at a time. As we conquer a problem or concept, that leads us to go to the next step of learning. So you can see that you are always learning and conquering and I am still in the process of maturing. BPWMTLINFWMY (be patient with me, the Lord is not finished with me yet)
A Merry Heart
As for my Christian influence I grew up in the Baptist Church but changed over to Assemblies of God Church when our daughter went to school in the fourth grade as well as our son in the fourth grade also. My experiences in the Baptist Church are quite different from my experiences in the Assemblies of God Church which I shall relate sometime in the near future. I learned a lot in the Baptist Sunday School but they seem to have no power so I will be explaining why I think that is so.
Some time back I felt like the Lord was impressing upon me to do some blogging as my ministry now as my son and his wife also do blogging. My son does it as a witness and she blogs about the family. But I knew that He would impress me to blog when something earth shaking came along and now that something has occurred so I am very excited to be doing this for my Lord.
I would be very happy for you to go on a journey with me to explore my Christianity. These will be my own observations of what I have gleaned from being a Christian for many years, not necessarily all good years of living out my Christian faith or correctly interpreting the Bible. But as a little child learns to walk one step at a time, so does becoming a mature Christian involve one step at a time. As we conquer a problem or concept, that leads us to go to the next step of learning. So you can see that you are always learning and conquering and I am still in the process of maturing. BPWMTLINFWMY (be patient with me, the Lord is not finished with me yet)
A Merry Heart
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)