Purely Personal #2

This is a recap of our Christmas this year which was wonderful since our sons flew in from Ft. Worth and Indie. Adding to the joy was the fact that Dean was able to celebrate Christmas with us and actually felt like celebrating. Wow!

Christmas decorations started going up at our house the first week of December. We were able to buy a tree the day before the cold weather hit and the month just  kept getting better. Here’s our tree and most of the nativity sets that we have collected over the years.  

The boys came in on the 23^rd and were able to attend the Christmas Eve service at church with us and since they didn’t leave until today (the 30^th) they went to church with us yesterday also. Brian gave us a special blessing/surprise when he sang a song during the first service accompanying himself on the guitar. Here he is in our living room doing one of his favorite activities. 

Jeff’s creative ability showed itself ranging from funky gift wrapping to culinary ventures to miniature  furniture building. I had asked him to make some dollhouse furniture replacements which have gone missing over the years. He brought his book about Arts and Crafts furniture and using the pictures, scaled his creations to fit the rooms in the dollhouse (see below.

 We did plenty of eating over Christmas week. Here’s a picture of three of my favorite men grouped at the end of the table for our Christmas Day meal. Dean got in on the cooking by making his “pizzantes” a trademark edible he first created when he had a take-n-bake pizza shop in Laramie.

The stockings were hung by the chimney

And a wonderful time was had by all.

Life goes on in the grand scheme of things and we waved goodbye to our boys this morning We were grateful to see them leave in sunny skies and on clear roadways, but the leave-taking is always bittersweet. 

I have to bring this around full circle and say, “Thank You, Lord, for making this all possible by giving us the gift of family, but most importantly, by giving us the gift of Yourself, that Christmas Day 2000 plus years ago.

Not a Cradle?

This week I’m borrowing a fitting story shared by some friends who minister with Wycliffe Bible Translators.

An Mbe translation team in Nigeria was working on the translation of Luke 2:7 which deals with Mary placing baby Jesus in a manger.  When the Wycliffe consultant asked the team to draw a picture of the word they were using for the word, manger, they drew a picture of a cradle hung by ropes so a newborn baby could be laid in it and lulled to sleep.

The team was referred to a reference book which showed that a manger was actually an animal feeding trough. The team felt that was an objectionable translation until the consultant reminded them that translation should be as close to the original language as possible. He told them, “The word, ‘manger’ tells us something profound about God. When He came to live among us and bring salvation to us, He came in the lowliest way possible.” The team was urged to find the best possible word in the Mbe language.

When the translators fully realized where Baby Jesus was laid, they used the word that means an old, worn-out basket useable only to feed animals. When the Mbe people listened to this scripture passage, they were emotionally moved by what Jesus was willing to do to reach them—beginning with being born to a young peasant woman under questionable circumstances and being laid in an animal feeding trough for His first bed.

Should not we ALL be moved as we meditate on the fact that Jesus left the glory of heaven to come to earth and ultimately be our salvation? “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.”  Thank You, Lord Jesus for all that that means.

Party Hearty

I generally think of an inebriated group  of merrymakers or even a drunken brawl when I hear the phrase, party hearty. It’s not necessarily true, however, if you look at all the possibilities. In essence , I think “party hearty” means to enjoy yourself wholeheartedly. I can remember family get-togethers when the funny stories flowed freely and we laughed until the tears rolled--and the strongest stimulant was iced tea. (Part of the tears may have come from the pain of having eaten too much and the extreme pressure of laughter on the expanded waistline.) But those were “party hearty” times.

The Christmas season seems to be an appropriate time to think of partying heartily because of the unique happening that occurred 2000 some odd years ago—and made all the difference in the world. The baby conceived and born in such a wondrous fashion came to bring joy and peace to the world. In fact, He created joy—check out Galatians 5:22 and we see that joy is one of the fruits (characteristics) of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus must have given his mother and Joseph many moments of joy and His joyful personality probably led to His enjoyment of parties. Look at the wedding party at Cana. In fact, I would say Jesus has a tender heart toward weddings judging by scripture ranging from Genesis 2 and ending with the Marriage Supper of the Lamb in Revelation 19. And the awesome thing about that Revelation “party” is that we believers are an integral part of that wedding party that will outdo all parties.

The great thing about parties or celebrations centering around Christ is that we can have all this fun and not have to deal with a hangover the next day or a guilty conscience afterwards. To quote Beth Moore, “…celebrations around Christ’s presence are so wonderful because they are intended to be sparkling refreshment to a world-worn soul.”

In the Old Testament God commanded His people to celebrate His goodness and providence during festivals several times a year. Unless we’re Jewish, we don’t follow those same commands today, but His wishes for His adopted children are no less. “Celebrate My goodness. Have a party(and remember Who makes it possible)!” 

Our life situations  may not make us feel like celebrating for all sorts of reasons, but we really DO have a reason to party hearty –and His name is Jesus.

A Week Full of Thanksgiving

The Thanksgiving item that ranks first in my mind this year is the fact that Dean has survived his cancer diagnosis to enjoy this Thanksgiving . And, praise God, Dean is not only just surviving but enjoying life. He says he’s claiming Psalm 39:13—the enjoying life part. 

Fortunately, Dean counts driving as a joy in his life and he has done a lot of it during the past six weeks including a trip to Las Vegas the day after Thanksgiving. I had scheduled a book signing for THE WOMEN WHO KNEW HIM at Heaven Sent Christian Books and Gifts last Saturday. Thanks go to Wayne and Cindee Whiteman, owners of the store, for allowing me time and space in their store. 

Also, many thanks to our friends, Nancy and Steve for giving us a place to bunk as well as feeding us some outstanding chow.

Continuing the week of thanksgiving was the reminder of good health when it wasn’t apparent. Thursday was migraine headache time for me. There’s nothing like feeling awful to magnify thankfulness when you are once again feeling good.

Friday evening brought a great time of delicious food and great visits with friends prior to the Women of Faith  Christmas simulcast. The opportunities for thankfulness continued because I was allowed to sell and autograph copies of THE WOMEN WHO KNEW HIM during intermission. Thanks to all the ladies who purchased copies for themselves and for Christmas gifts.

 

My week full of Thanksgiving wrapped up at the Sierra Java Coffeehouse today where Shad Hutnyak permitted me to set up a table to sell and autograph copIes of THE WOMEN WHO KNEW HIM. Thanks for the opportunity, Shad. 

And, once again, I was delighted to make some new friends (which is always a plus during a book-signing event).

Thus ended this particular week full of Thanksgiving, but obviously, as long as the Lord gives us breath here on planet Earth, we can have a week of thanksgiving—week just being an arbitrary measure of time. This just reminds me of all the things I can be thankful for every single day. Which of course, does not limit Thanksgiving to the 4^th Thursday of November.

To Rejoice Is Your Choice

More than a year ago I felt the need to understand more about what true worship of God really means. Since I work in our church library a few hours each week, I was in the perfect place to look for others' ideas on the same subject.

 As I was inputting data on the computer relating to the books in our Christian Living section, I found a book by Jack Taylor entitled, THE HALLELUJAH FACTOR. I have to say he’s almost as difficult to read as J.I. Packer which must speak to my low level of intelligence, but Dean and I are determined to get through the book together—me reading and he listening (and sometimes dozing).

Today’s chapter entitled “Pathways to Praise" was based on I Thessalonians 5:16-18. In the verse we are called to do three things:  be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances.  Here is what I gleaned from the first admonition:

God wants us, His people, to be joyful. Check out the scriptures—you’ll see that God, Himself, is joyful. Dr. Taylor lists all the verses just in the book of Psalms which speak of joy and the act of rejoicing (a page full). He even mentions Jeremiah, a prophet I would never connect with the word, joy.  Yet, despite his words of judgment from the Lord, there are at least four places in his book that he speaks of joy or rejoicing.

If I were to describe the apostle Paul in an unthinking way, I would say he was probably a bustling, officious, authoritarian type who did not bear fools gladly and I would never associate joy as a descriptive word for him. This is obviously a poor description because his character is revealed in his teaching letters to the various churches. In them are numerous mentions of joy and rejoicing (as well as concern for the welfare of his brothers and sisters in Christ).

Our Lord Jesus would seem to have little to be joyful about as he dealt with rejection over and over, knowing He was facing a horrible death on the cross. Yet his very birth was ushered in by angels singing of great joy and His mother, Mary composed a special song of joy about his coming. Luke 2:52 describes a youngster who must have been a joy to know. His Father certainly looked on Him with favor. And Hebrews 12:2 speaks of Jesus…”who for the joy set before Him endured the cross…”

So many Biblical examples of joy and rejoicing lead me to pay special attention to this admonition Paul gives us in I Thessalonians. It’s not surprising then to read Dr. Taylor’s statement that joy is necessary to praise. He’s not talking about fluffy emotions of happiness but genuine joy in Christ—knowing Him and knowing His love.

Bottom line:  As I prepare to praise God, I will make the choice to rejoice, always.

The Hooray Chapter

I’m including this gorgeous picture of Brian's--a Tucson sunset because I forgot to do so last week—it has nothing whatsoever to do with the subject of my blog, but isn’t it beautiful?.                                               

 And yes, the colors really were that vivid.

Hooray or hurrah or yippee—Dean and I have finally reached the last chapter in J.I. Packer’s book BELIEVING GOD. Not done yet but will be by next week. What a tussle, but so very rewarding because it has really made us stretch our gray matter.  I can already see I need to check it out of our church library next year and read it again—Yikes!

Packer calls his last chapter, "The Adequacy of God" and focuses on that wonderful 8^th chapter of Romans. He prefaces it with Luther’s statement about the book of Romans, being “the clearest gospel of all.” Then Packer alludes to Romans 8 as a sort of microcosm of the Gospel

Case in point: the chapter starts out with “there is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus” and ends with “[nothing]… can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.”  In between we find such precious nuggets as “All things work together for good to those who love God…”(verse 28) and “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (verse 31b). And because of Jesus’ death on the cross and His resurrection, we finite, puny human beings can call the Creator of the Universe, "Abba, Father" (verse 15)--remember, Abba in Hebrew is like saying Daddy in American. I think that’s a pretty awesome privilege!

I’ve recently enjoyed participating in the Beth Moore DVD/Bible study titled “The Inheritance.” God is so gracious and kind to us, His adopted children. The 8^th chapter of Romans is a great picture of our inheritance through Jesus. If you feel like you need some spiritual rejuvenation, sort of like a “battery jump” for your spirit, go to Romans 8. You will either realize again what you have been given in Christ, or you will realize what you need—which is a personal relationship with the Great I AM.

I would love to dialogue with any readers interested in discussing this topic. In the meantime have a great weekend (if you read this when I post it).

Tucson Rendezvous

This blog post should have been written last weekend but my brain was apparently in relax mode until the middle of this past week (and I'm still late). At any rate, the annual Diehl Reunion in Tucson was a fantastic get-together, as usual. The one grandchild in the group helped make the time just that much more enjoyable. 

Ryder is such a cuddly sweetie and has learned to pose perfectly because his daddy takes so many pix of him (for which we are grateful, Todd).

The family’s propensity to “pig out” was no different this year and we enjoyed eating all the yummy offerings whether they were from Diehl or Tucson relatives. Here’s a sample of one of Brenda’s spreads.

The house’s caretaker took Dean’s hint and found a pool table which he refurbished. Did a fine job and the table was enjoyed by several. (picture) However, I didn’t see any games of“Farmer Pool” this year. What happened, Wendi and Jeff?

The swimming pool also got daily usage although  I can tell you personally that 72 degree water does not comfortable make! It's a toss-up on the best way to acclimate oneself to a less than tepid temperature in a swimming pool—sudden immersion of the entire body or immersion by degrees. The shrieks of shock are approximately the same amount of decibels.At any rate, the male “children” had a good time as evidenced by the human cannonball aka Todd. 

The group enjoyed shopping trips of various sorts and Dean and Brian made a trip to Mt.Lemmon where Brian got some gorgeous shots of scenery. It was wonderful to see Aunt Dorothy, Uncle J, Brenda, Rick, Andrew and Emily as well as visiting again with Dorothy’s friend, Debra Ann.

All things in this life do come to an end, whether good or bad and happily, every one arrived back home safely. Dean and I had special reason to give thanks for a safe trip as a large sandstorm came through on I- 10 about 20 minutes ahead of us causing a 19 vehicle pileup extending to both sides of the freeway, killing 3 people and severely injuring several others.   

Here’s an aerial picture taken by Brian about an hour later as he flew from Tucson to Phoenix and as the storm churned on. Thank You, Lord for our guardian angels.

The Joys of Aging

Actually there are some joys in aging (just to let any youngsters out there realize the fact). But at times you have to look sort of hard. Those of us who fit the Senior Citizen category can look back at wise choices and not-so-wise choices and know that we have learned from that circumstance and can go on from there with confidence. And of course, you have to have a certain amount of years under your belt to have and enjoy grandchildren (or great-nieces and nephews).

However, dealing with aging bodies that you had thought were relatively fit is an unwelcome surprise. Case in point:  last Monday I was finishing my third set of strength training exercises when I heard a pop and immediately felt an excruciating pain in my calf. These were not new exercises to me and I had warmed up in the same fashion as other times I had done these routines. How could my body sabotage me like that?

Once the pain had subsided enough for me to hobble over to the computer, I googled mid-calf pain and discovered that I had possibly torn a muscle. Well, that sounded really hunky-dory since we had a vacation planned for the next week. After icing and elevating the leg most of the day, I took one of Dean’s anti-inflammatory drugs  and slept great that night

Since then I have been able to walk pretty much pain-free except that I can’t get rid of a limp. Not sure whether I just want attention—don’t think so—or if my brain is telling my body that the correct balance needed to walk freely isn’t quite what it needs to be yet.

My friend told her husband (a high school coach) about my injury and he immediately had a name for the problem—sorry, I don’t have it, but probably couldn’t spell it anyway. He said old athletes often incur this injury and it was nothing particularly serious—I should be back to 100% in about three weeks.

Old athletes, huh? So now I’m an old jock. Who’d a thunk it?

Adoption

This subject could be titled “Salad Bowl Discourse #3 as it is a gift (shame! Shame!) that I have taken for granted until I read J.I. Packer’s chapter on “Sons of God” in his book, KNOWING GOD. (Yes, Dean and I are still inching our way through the book, but it really IS worth the journey.)

In our 21^st century culture we view adoption as a wonderful way to unite a baby or young child without parents with a childless couple or parents who unselfishly open their family to nurture additional children.

However, during the Roman era of world dominance which held sway during the time the New Testament was written, adoption generally dealt with bringing a young adult male into the family to carry on the family name in a worthy fashion and to inherit the family wealth.

As a child I asked Jesus to be my Lord and Savior (in the Baptist vernacular) and because of that decision, I grew up taking for granted that I was a child of God. That phrase “taking it for granted” is the bad guy here because as I read Packer’s thoughts on what it means to be adopted into God’s family, I realized I understood  only a tiny morsel of what that privilege meant.

Adoption into God’s family gives us eternal benefits starting with forgiveness. John 3:16 tell us God loved us so much He sent Jesus to take care of our sin debt by dying in our place. (Pat’s paraphrase) That’s just for starts. Also, in this awesome package of Godly adoption we get faith, hope, peace and other great helps for our sojourn on planet Earth.

Then there’s this inheritance factor. When I think about being a co-heir with Jesus, my Lord, it almost feels heretical—but that’s what the Bible tells me in Galations 4:7. When I try to imagine what heaven is like, my brain gets even more tangled up than when I look at the stars on a clear night and think about the galaxies beyond my sight. Yet that’s what I, as a child adopted into God’s family, will inherit.

I have been blessed with a great flesh and blood family here on Earth, but now that I’ve removed Adoption out of my spiritual salad bowl, I truly marvel at what a family I’m a part of—God, the Father and Jesus, the Son. Wow!

Purely Personal

This blog post will be a travelogue of sorts re: our Ft. Worth trip. The first picture is the sun shining through a hole in a stormy cloudscape which reminded me of a spotlight. If you look carefully, you can see two or three. Pretty eerie. This was taken between Silver Zone ad Wendover.  

The 2^nd day’s travel ranged from Laramie, WY to Dumas, TX—a long day made even more miserable by the rain and fog we traveled through. Thanks to the fog, we missed seeing the beautiful scenery over the summit between Laramie and Cheyenne. However, we didn't deal with flood waters as Boulder did.

Day 3 put us in at Jeff’s house about an hour before he got home, but that was OK. The next day was B Day—birthday time. No particular celebration this year but we did take Jeff to a new restaurant to him (and of course, to us). Then we bought 3 different LARGE slices of cake at his favorite bakery and topped that off with some ice cream at Braun’s.  (Can you se the "42" candles?)

 

Sunday was church at Hope and lunch with our friends, the Andersons. Jeff’s DVD player inside of a hand-me-down TV had die and since I use a DVD for  an exercise guide and Dean loves to watch the tube, we made a trek to Radio Shack for those items so the old folks wouldn’t feel deprived

 

Jeff took Monday off so he could help us get started on the two major goals: Inserting a new side door for his garage and putting up  pegboard for his kitchen renovation so that shelves could be put up and cabinets constructed.

We bought a door at a recycled items place which we are pleased with (unfortunately ran out of time before it could be put in place).  

I spent a chunk of time Monday ridding a copper light shade of many years of grime. We decided to turn it inside out so the copper is visible

My next project was washing the glass crystals of two chandeliers Jeff was given by a friend who is remodelling an old house. (Too bad we didn't have time to get this up to show off the light against the crystals.)

Friday was another “vacation” day (not really) for Jeff and he constructed cabinets for the kitchen that day. We moved furniture around so that his living room and dining room no longer contain quite so much kitchen utensils.

God willing, we will get to go see Jeff for next year’s birthday (Dean drove the 1500 miles in relatively good condition), so we will see what changes evolve in the little Tudor style house on NW 19^th by next year.

Our trip back home started out with beautiful sunshine but by the time we reached Cheyenne, the typical Wyoming winds picked up. I love the sight of large wind turbines and these were guarding the horizon outside of Cheyenne. I knew we would seem more turbines between Laramie and Arlington and also on the Three sisters just before we reached Evanston, so thought it was probably silly to snap this picture. Good thing I followed my first intuition as all the other locations had gray skies and snow

We got home safely and I went out to see how “the tomato plant” had fared in our absence. Elko had had freezing temps, but despite that, the 8 blossoms that emerged after the August rain turned into 4 tomatoes! (They have white paper as a background, but may still not be visible.)  A pathetic yield if you're a gardener; an unexpected delight if you're not. I fall in the second category.

Let There Be Light

This blog posting was actually written  about a month ago but I felt such a great urge to share my “tomato story”, this one was pushed to the side.

I love nostalgia and delight often in the items our local paper chooses to print  in their weekly column called Rewrites. The item that caught my eye this morning (9/7) was an article written 125 years ago.

The date of September 3, 1888 was to mark the electrification of Elko. It would be interesting to research how the town folks readied themselves for this lighting up of their lives but it surely ranked up there with future events like the first radio set in town and then the first TV available. Or maybe by that time, new inventions were becoming blasé

I was raised on a farm in the Midwest but my memory as a child always included having electricity in our home—just not inside plumbing—but that’s another story. However, I have friends (yes, they’re still alive) who remember homes without electricity. That meant going to bed at the same time the chickens did or straining your eyes to read by an oil lamp (although I understand Aladdin lamps gave out very good illumination). Moving from that type of existence to electric lights had to have been a life changing experience—one that very few of us can even imagine. I suppose some Elko folk had gas lights so that adds another twist to the change-over to electrification.

A more recent “Rewrite” column mentioned that the last bastion of non-electrified Elko County was hooked into the grid in the 60’s in the settlement called Midas. The last time we were exploring ghost towns, Midas was our destination but there may still be some people in the are—we just didn’t see any sign of them.

If any of you have memories of your family or relatives living with gas light or oil lamps, please share, particularly if there was an air of excitement in a newly electrified home or place of business.

What a Difference A Rain Makes

The title is a “take off” on an old standard and probably makes little sense to any readers who have not lived in the Southwest desert areas. My experience with rain in northeastern Nevada is that it usually arrives in June, we then see little of it the rest of our short summer--and then it snows.

This years has been different with very cold temperatures in June  (I was bemoaning my non-garden in an earlier post) and little moisture. This post will chronicle the continuing saga of “the” tomato plant. Here it is pre-planting.  

As you may remember, “the” tomato plant started out as a “counter” plant bearing  one tomato about the size of a tennis ball and a  smaller one about the size of a golf ball. The larger tomato ripened and graced a Diehl salad one day. After having surmised that the freezing weather was over (by the end of June) I decided to plant "the" plant outside in hopes the golf-ball tomato would show its muscle and grow into something useful.

Three days later the July heatwave hit Elko and we had 7-10 days of temperatures at 101-105 or high 90’s. I finally checked the baby  fruit and discovered its little insides had totally cooked in the heat. Well, I did say it was a non-garden this year.

Have to admit I neglected the plant after that but then discovered that one branch of it seemed to be thriving.  Hoping I’m not sure what, I dumped a bucket of water on it periodically.

Now comes the irony. We had two rains last week and they could actually be measured. They even classified as rainstorms by Midwestern standards. One friend who lives near the foot of the Ruby Mountains (about 20 miles from Elko) said their rain gauge read 2.2 inches. Elko probably didn’t get that much but some storm drains here in town couldn’t handle the sudden rush of water.

 

At any rate, I checked “the” tomato plant  after the rains. Not only had it thrived on all that heavenly water, it now has 8-10 blossoms on it. (Sorry, they're hard to see because the picture was taken by a somewhat blind photographer, but they ARE there.)  

Poor things don’t realize those freezing temperatures are probably on the way again in 3-4 weeks (while I’m gone and can’t cover the plant). If it does live until I return, I will probably re- pot it and return it to the kitchen counter where it started. That way we may have two tomatoes/month through Christmas (or ten at the same time) and I can feel like I have afforded the plant a true "life cycle."

A Child’s Ta-Da

My sons gave me some hilarious memories during their growing up years. A favorite for Jeff was one day when he burst into the kitchen shouting, “Look Mom, I can twirl,” at which point he began to twist his body around in circles attempting to get himself dizzy enough to fall down. I don’t know who was laughing harder at the end of his exhibition—him or me.

For Brian, the topper has to be the time he and Jeff were playing in a mud puddle next to our driveway. Hearing sounds of little boy glee—which almost always means trouble—I went  outside to see what was going on. “See me, Mommy,” gurgled Brian. He was covered head to toe with mud, literally, helped very generously by his brother Jeff. As I recount this, I’m wondering how I ever cleaned him up, but it was probably first by turning a hose on him because he was far too muddy to put in the bathtub.

To quote Sheila Walsh in WHEN A WOMAN TRUSTS GOD, children seem to be born “with a God-given Ta-da inside, confident that everyone in the room will be overjoyed to see them make an entrance.”

Unfortunately, life has ways of erasing that self-assurance and enthusiasm. Fear, depression, shame, lack of self esteem can take over our lives, but we do our best to hide all that and pretend that we “have it all together.” (To any male readers out there, just because I'm referring to a book aimed at women doesn't mean it might not be applicable to you, too.)

Here’s an adult “ta-da.” The good news is that Jesus offers to help us overcome these unhappy emotions. He said “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Rivers of living water will brim and spill out of the depths of anyone who believes in me this way.” (John 7:37-3 MSG)  After just finishing a study on Revelation, I was especially struck by the invitation issued in the latter part of verse 17 of chapter 22: “And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.” (NKJV)

Sheila continues. “This isn’t just for those whose children are model students and whose husbands know how to load the dishwasher. …or made good choices up until this very moment. It is an invitation to anyone who has finally come to the place where they are tired of pretending that everything is fine

“It’s scary to come out of hiding if you have lived that way for years…[but] God knows everything about you and loves you [anyway].”  Seems to me that offer is worth taking the risk.

Had a “Mad” On Lately?

We all have had moments of anger whether that anger is “righteous indignation” or just plain being mad because we didn’t get our way or had what we considered our rights trampled on.

Wrath is an emotion that we humans probably couple with anger or “getting mad” at someone. However, it is a much stronger word than we might expect and it is also a word we don’t use much anymore.

Dean and I are still slogging through J.I. Packer’s book, KNOWING GOD and have just finished the chapter Packer wrote on God’s wrath. This particular topic was of special interest to me since the Small Group I have attended this summer just finished Beth Moore’s study on the New Testament book of Revelation—definitely some graphic examples of God’s wrath.

According to Packer’s dictionary definition, “wrath is deep intense anger and indignation.” God’s wrath is not an attribute we like to think about, even as believers. It’s much more comfortable to rhapsodize about God’s love, mercy, grace, forgiveness, etc. which are all truly attributes of God. But we are doing an injustice to our unbelieving friends and relatives if we ignore this wrathful side of God.

Packer mentions an interesting aspect of the way our culture views wrath as a loss of self control, wounded pride, or just plain bad temper. That might be a picture of human wrath; it is definitely not a picture of why God would be full of wrath. “God is only angry whey anger is called for.” His indignation is ALWAYS righteous. God’s wrath is never cruel, for cruelty is immoral, but His wrath is judicial or administering justice. The Bible never quibbles about God’s wrath; in fact His wrath is mentioned more times than His mercy, kindness and love. That statement really surprised me.

Packer brings out another side of this topic when he shows that mankind chooses (believe it or not) God’s wrath. See John 3:18-19. I seldom think about that choice since long ago I chose to accept God’s remedy for sin as opposed to choosing His wrath. It's not pleasant to think of friends and family members who have, to this point, chosen God's wrath.

Yet He IS a loving God and because He is, He has made a way of escape from His own wrath, that wrath being aimed at rebellion and unholiness. The good news (Gospel) is that Jesus left His throne in heaven to come to earth and did on a cross taking on Himself God’s wrath that should have been directed at we ornery human beings.

When I read how God’s wrath will be poured out on humankind during the last days, I can only marvel at His love that also provided a way of escape from that wrath through Jesus’ sacrifice in our place. That escape is really good news!!!

Looking for a Women's Bible Study?

If you are searching for a Women's Bible Study for the Fall semester or are interested in taking a closer look at the women mentioned in the Gospels, check out my book, THE WOMEN WHO KNEW HIM.

 

In case you haven’t seen a copy of the book, there are discussion starters at the end of each chapter/story which will hopefully be a springboard to additional questions and discussion. With 13 chapters/stories in the book, it will nicely cover 13 weeks from a start in early to mid-September and ending in early December.

I have printed below the discussion starters from the story of Simon’s mother-in-law.

·                    Grief was a central part of Miriam’s life prior to meeting Jesus. Discuss the manner in which you or family and friends have dealt with such grief.

·                    Miriam questioned whether she was good enough to be admitted to paradise/heaven. What are your thoughts about her feelings?

·                    When Miriam discovered that Simon and Andrew were leaving their business to fish for men, she dreaded another change in her life. How do you deal with changes that are thrust upon you? If your reactions to such changes are negative, what steps might you take toward a more positive outlook?

·                    Worry can be a crippling emotion. What do you worry about? Jesus plainly stated that we need not worry, but how do we prevent that mind-set?

·                    Think of a friend who reminds you of Hannah. What characteristic(s) of hers do you appreciate most, and why?

 You can look at the book by going to my website at http://diehl2360.wix.com/pat-diehl (Ctrl-click) and click on Book Purchase. Then click on the Amazon link under the second flower which will take you directly to the book site. You can read a sizeable chunk of chapter One as well as look at the Table of Contents. (If you use the book for a Bible study this Fall, I would urge you to save chapter 1 until December since that is the story of Mary, Jesus’ mother.)J

I just checked Amazon and they’re selling THE WOMEN WHO KNEW HIM at a 10% discount with free shipping on orders over $25. So if you’re planning to order something from Amazon anyway, what a deal!

Investments

Investments. Money stashed in stocks, bonds, or treasury notes, or even CDs and savings accounts. As important as monetary investments may be, they pale in comparison to how I invest  my life. Such an investment might be a cause I'm passionate about or perhaps even the reason I chose a particular career path.

 This past week Dean and I were able to attend a simulcast entitled Global Leadership Summit which was put together and implemented by Willow Creek Association, an arm of a huge church not too far from Chicago, IL. It was an excellent way to spend most of two days, well worth the time and the fee.

Our personal realm of leadership is not as widespread as in earlier years, but it seems to me that one's circle of influence continues until the day we leave planet Earth. Therefore, in at least one sphere or other, it appears that we all have a leadership role.

One speaker from Nairobi Kenya exhorted us all to pour our lives into (invest) the generation that is now growing up. That could mean someone at least 20-35 years younger than yourself. Those individuals are the future and “the future is now.”

The speaker quoted from Psalm 71:18 where David requests, “Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your might to all who are to come.” That kind of investment is one which extends beyond the investor’s death and, if the vision continues, will not expire until the end of time.

Many years ago I saw this type of investment when a young family on staff at Campus Ventures at the University of Wyoming invited our older son to live with them for a year in order to experience their family life and ministry. At the time I would have called that a sacrifice but they called it an investment. The fruits of their investment are now evident.

The Global Leadership Summit is an annual event but the outcomes from those who participated must surely make a daily difference in their world. It’s definitely an event to watch for and participate in come 2014.

Depression to Dimples

I awoke this morning wondering why I felt like the weight of the world was on my shoulders (could have been the fact that the coffee was not yet made).

Then I remembered the events of the past two days: news of a dear friend whose father just died (on top of her husband dying last year and her mother, the year before), hearing that another friend had a serious relationship rupture, finding out that much-anticipated guests were not able to make the trip to Elko, sharing in the sadness of a beloved aunt whose granddaughter is paying for poor choices, and the topper—my brother’s call last night, saying he was having surgery early this morning which could either be out-patient or in-patient, depending on what the surgeon found when they opened him up.

While I waited for the coffee to perk, I was foolish enough to fetch the newspaper from the front porch, opening it up to front page articles ranging from negative to right-down bad happenings.

I usually associate dimples with visible signs of happiness My “dimples” began with a fresh cup of coffee. Realizing that I had not started myday reading the best material, I turned to Psalms 119, the second subdivision of that long chapter, entitled “Beth” and was reminded of how important it is to mediate on God’s Word. The old “pledge of allegiance” to the Bible from Vacation Bible School days is taken from verse 11—“Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against God.”

It wasn’t too long after that, a major dimple appeared with a call from my groggy brother. He had just gotten home from the hospital, was sitting in his easy chair and wanted to assure me that all had gone well with his surgery.

I anticipate other “dimples” throughout the day but if they don’t materialize, I’m grateful for what I was given. I realize dimples are depressions with a joyful attitude, so the lesson for me today would be: Look for the dimples.  

Well…That’s a Deep Subject

Wisdom. That’s the subject I’ve been looking at for the past 7-10 days. I have resumed reading aloud to Dean, J.I. Packer’s book, KNOWING GOD. I had checked the book out of our church library on a friend’s recommendation, and we have discovered that the book’s information is very detailed and extremely worthwhile. However, it is not an easy read as Mr. (probably Dr.) Packer is a Brit so his word flow is somewhat different than Nevadans J.  

We had just started reading the chapter on God’s Wisdom when my Quiet Time meditation just happened to be Psalm 111, the last verse reminding me that “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Ergo, my "book report."

Packer begins his chapter on Wisdom saying it is “ the practical side of moral goodness…found fully, only, in God. Human wisdom can be frustrated by circumstances but God, Who knows all, plus being all powerful is totally worthy of our trust.

Packer discuss the OT characters, Abraham, Jacob, and Joseph and their various trials used by God to mold them into men he could use. Consequently, we shouldn’t be surprised at what we consider unpleasant, discouraging things which come our way. God can use these life events "to make something of us to which we have not yet attained." In American lingo that would read, “God is not finished with us yet.”

In our quest for wisdom Packer says we must 1) learn to reverence God, which includes embracing a humble, teachable spirit; 2) learn to receive God’s Word. Do we “soak” ourselves in Scripture? How many times have we read the Bible all the way through? Do we spend as much time reading the Bible as we do the newspaper (or watching TV or reading a novel)? Ouch—those are convicting questions!

Next Packer goes to the book of Ecclesiastes. The Preacher paints a pretty grim picture, but intersperses  it with hope and in chapter 12 gives an outline of gaining wisdom--“Fear God and keep His commandments.” The New Testament tells us the result of gaining wisdom is Christlikeness—peace, humility and love.

So the wisdom God gives to those who ask will be expressed “in a spirit of faith and a life of faithfulness.” Obviously, this is the quest of a lifetime but so worth the journey.

I have read that blog posts shouldn’t exceed 500 words, so I’m not quite there yet. I would love to dialog with any readers interested in this subject. Or better yet, check out Packer’s book. Just don’t plan to get through it in a hurry.

Children—Friends

The week following July 4^th we were able to enjoy the company of both of our adult sons. The original idea was to pick them up in Salt Lake City and drive to Thermopolis, Wyoming, the Hot Springs Capital of the World (or something like that) so Dean could sit and soak, the boys could swim and I could just hang out. There were some plans for a fishing trip too, but the vacation trip didn’t happen because Dean still hadn’t regained adequate stamina for the trek.

Like the good guys they are, Jeff and Brian rented a car in SLC and drove to Elko so they could spend time with us anyway. Jeff has experience as a landscaper so he worked on our yard. Brian did the mowing and trimming and various other tasks Dean mentioned.

Chef Jeff is pictured here putting together one of his delicious and unique meals for the family.

Brian kindly agreed to build a website for me so that I can easily direct people on how to find my blog, buy THE WOMEN WHO KNEW HIM or “friend” me on FaceBook. By the way that web address is:  diehl2360.wix.com/pat-diehl. (For some reason, the picture of him hard at work on my computer didn't make it into my camera???)

All of this narrative is just to state how great it is to have children who are now not only our beloved sons, but our prized friends. I can remember thinking as I looked at our little boys playing and wondering, “What they will be like when they grow up.” Time has now made the answer apparent and I am well pleased. They are men of kindness and integrity; I am grateful.

My Non-Garden

Last year I didn’t even pretend to have a garden. This year the intention was present but the carry-through has been lacking.

Three or four years ago Dean purchased a stock tank and filled it with dirt so that I could have a raised garden bed . Thus far I have raised some carrots, one extremely health green bean plant (it’s a mystery as to where the other seeds went) and a lovely tomato plant

The plants you see pictured here are the sole “fruit” of a package of spinach seeds sown at the beginning of June. 

There is a certain area of this “raised garden bed” that is akin to the Bermuda Triangle where the planes and ships mysteriously disappear. Both this year and two years ago, the seeds I planted just vanished. Perhaps I should check the bottom of the stock tank in case the seeds have migrated in that direction???

I was telling my brother about my tomato plant not yet planted as it seems to be doing perfectly well sitting on the kitchen counter. The first of June we were having freezing temperatures and the temperatures at the end of June soared into triple digits. He suggested that instead of calling it a patio tomato, I label it a counter tomato.  

I may yet plant it in one of these half barrels (more of Dean’s answer to my plea for a raised garden bed), but not in the one pictured as it contains the “bones” of a lovely rhubarb start that a friend gave me as well as a package of peas that I planted. Again—no sign of life. Seems to have caught the idea from the Bermuda Triangle stock tack.

ALL of my relatives, alive or dead, would be wondering where my gene pool went wrong. They were/are all decent, even world class gardeners  As for me, the green thumb stops here with a distinctly blackened hue.

Royalties are exciting!

Hooray! Hooray! Thanks to my friends and family members purchasing THE WOMEN WHO KNEW HIM, I am able to send a donation to my first choice of the mission organizations I am interested in.         

Sometime late in my writing of the book, I chanced to read about a  Christian author connected with Stonehouse Ink, a new Christian publishing company in the Boise area.  In her bio this author mentioned that a major portion of her proceeds from book sales would go to a particular charitable organization.

I had been toying with an idea along that line, so the bio provided the impetus to my decision. I didn’t want to list a percentage on the book cover, but I decided I would contribute 90% of the royalties from THE WOMEN WHO KNEW HIM to reputable mission organizations starting with Samaritan’s Purse. I figured I could trust the Lord to eventually amass the remaining 10% to cover the costs I have paid editors, etc.

I wanted to be able to send a check for at least $100 and I am now able to do that, thanks to my readers! So many thanks to you all, and Samaritan’s Purse will also be grateful.

Friends

Friendship is sort of a blah word for opening a blog, but it is a commodity (not sure about my semantics here) that is priceless. I went to a wedding this afternoon and sat by friends I hadn’t seen for at least two or three years. Yet we picked up the thread of communication as if we had seen each other a mere week ago.

A family we first met in Laramie, Wyoming more than 25 years ago came  by and stayed a couple of nights with us on their way to Yellowstone. They not only ministered to us by their mere presence, but they showed caring in a very concrete fashion. Steve mowed our yard and drove Dean’s pickup full of lilac bush trimmings (which another local friend had trimmed for us) to the dump. Nancy took me shopping (which is a treat because I need a female with good vision for such forays). Plus she made a batch of her famous pimento cheese spread besides all the other goodies she brought with her.

 

We celebrated their visit by visiting one of Nancy’s favorite Basque restaurants. Their visit was a welcome break in our daily sometimes tedium.

I think God smiled when he came up with the idea of friends since He included some friends’ stories in the Bible: David and Jonathan, Paul and Dr. Luke, and the men who brought their friend to Jesus for healing in a most unique fashion (they made a hole in the house roof and lowered their friend down into the middle of the assembly).

I am certainly thankful for all the friends who faithfully pray for us on this surprising journey with cancer. So this blog is dedicated to you all!

Wedding Anniversary Celebration

Forty-five years ago this past Sunday, Patti Johnson and Dean Diehl got married during one of the most humid days of that Northeastern Missouri summer. 

Who likes to sweat when you want everything to look perfect? So we didn’t celebrate that memory.

Dean got ready to go to church last Sunday morning and just felt so tired he said, “I don’t think I want to try to get out today.” (That was a “little did we know” situation since he was back in the hospital with pneumonia  by the next Wednesday.)

That wasn’t a celebration moment either.

By that time I was running even later than usual so I pushed the button for the garage door opener, heard it raise, got in my Trooper, backed up—and Crash!!  The garaged door had malfunctioned again, raising only high enough to catch the edge of my roof.

With the sound of  screeching metal, I drove the only direction that seemed feasible—forward. And of course, the door refused to move either up or down—after all, it was injured!

My exhausted hubby wanted to know what all the ruckus was about and decided he could work some magic with the electric-eye box on the garage ceiling if I would put the stepladder in place. I held on to his waistband as he shakily climbed up two steps on the ladder and decided where he needed to hike the power. After seeing him safely settled on his step, I went to the opposite wall and pushed the opener-button in hopes that the door would open so that I could get my vehicle out.

With great groaning and clankings, it did so. I helped Dean off the ladder and back into his easy chair and I drove off to church thinking, “I REALLY want to cry, Lord. Please don’t let me cry. It’s not a pretty sight to see old ladies cry.”

The Lord was gracious. No tears and I even managed to worship which was why I was at church in the first place. But I have to say, that whole episode was not in any way a celebration.

Lunch time came and our celebratory meal was a grilled cheese sandwich for me (my favorite meal item on “cheat day”) and Ramen for Dean because his mouth and tongue had still not healed up from the last chemo treatment.

Not an especially celebratory menu BUT the salivating part came with the rhubarb pie I made using some of the wonderful fruit my friend, Allison, had given me. Now Dean loves rhubarb pie and despite the great pain in his mouth, he ate two pieces of that pie!                   

The actual celebration of our 45 years together cameas we realized that last year at this time, we didn’t know whether there would be an anniversary to celebrate. Dean started his first chemo treatment about this time last year and the doctor wasn’t very optimistic.

“It’s a fast-growing cancer,” he said. By July and CT scan time, the cancer gurus were beginning to wonder if they had mis-read the biopsy results. And here we are, together today. Thank you, Lord. That’s something to celebrate!