Author: pamela

Autumn’s ushering in Winter

It’s sure chilly-chilly here tonight!!  The forecast even includes snow!  Suddenly it seems to be just fine to give up wishing for warmer days and working in the garden for the year — for now, baking season is here!   And around our home it’s time for “special requests.”  By this, I mean that it’s time for everyone to submit this year’s favourites for me to bake — or, better said, this year’s update to the list of things “we have to have ________” for Thanksgiving and Christmas!

Confession:  I simply cannot keep track of who likes what and who doesn’t like what for the traditional Thanksgiving meal.  So, I decided a few years ago to sort of announce the menu (though the menu doesn’t change a whole lot) and that’s when I really find out this or that child doesn’t really like this or that menu item.  And then, too, I have a few others who say something like:  we have to have_______!

Some recipes never change and some have sort of evolved as children have aged, tastes have matured and new favourites have come into play.  Some things I don’t make bcz they just don’t taste the same as they used to taste — for example, my dear mother-in-law always used to make the most delicious layered jello salad for both Thanksgiving and Christmas… she’s living far away now and so that dish is just one of those sweet lingering memories.

Some of the must have’s include turkey — of course, fresh cranberry relish, russian cream, potato rolls, sweet potato casserole and… pies.  Lots of pumpkin pies — otherwise, what would they eat for breakfast on Thanksgiving morning??  😉 Each year I’ve been working at making sure there are lots of things from the garden for the Thanksgiving meal.  So, this year from the garden we’ll have carrots, potatoes, pumpkin, pickles, raspberries to top the russian cream, apples & walnuts in the salad and pies.  I’ve been making walnut pies using a standard pecan pie recipe.

Since we have walnut trees and a bazillion walnuts, it doesn’t seem all that prudent to buy pecans — though I must say pecans are pretty tasty!  So… Monday’s the first “pie day.”   Besides those, this year I’ll be adding Swedish Pear and Almond Cream Cake and Hazelnut pie to the dessert menu.  We didn’t have much of a blueberry crop this year and though the blackberries were plentiful this year, we were attending to other things and the blackberries didn’t get picked — so, no blueberry pie, no blackberry pie this year.

I’m so looking forward to this week in the kitchen… thankful for so many things… and the beautiful music in the background.

But another confession:  I do not – do not – like the smell of turkey cooking in the oven.  Or turkey broth simmering on the stove.  But I like cold turkey the day after Thanksgiving.    And simmering cinnamon, cloves and oranges make the kitchen smell soooo sweet.


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stuck like glue…

I read a letter from a dear sister and at the end of her letter she enclosed a quote:   “Self-pity is like super glue from hell that keeps us stuck to the past.”   (Love & Thank you, Jenny)

As I’ve worked in our home today I’ve been mulling this quote over in my mind.  I’ve been thinking of other angles on this one  and I’ve come to see another angle on what keeps us stuck in the past — it seems to me that guilt is the “super glue from hell” that keeps us stuck to the past.  Even confessed sin, repentance, a turning from whatever it was, somehow guilt links us and keeps us stuck to, or in,  the past like a super glue.

Guilt’s a heavy thing.  Guilt keeps us stuck and then other stuff keeps us  stuck like glue to guilt! Even when a debt’s been paid, an infraction’s been forgiven, a problem’s been solved – we sort of keep the deal messed up by rehashing and feeling guilty about it all.  Other things keep us stuck on guilt, too. Sometimes it’s other people.  Sometimes it’s regret or sorrow.  Sometimes its just our own stupidity revisiting done deals.  Stuff haunts us when we least expect it and then the ugly event washes over us all over again and we’re buried in regret, super-glued by guilt.

Guilt — and by guilt I don’t mean  what is, in reality, shame and deep conviction of living with unconfessed sin.  I’m not talking about that true guilt… I’m talking about guilt as an emotional response or a sense of being plagued by a problem that was confessed as sin, that was dealt with, that was forgiven.   This guilt plagues many of us — and it’s got a few companions, too.  Guilt doesn’t travel alone.  No… it travels well with shame and regret.  It travels well with grief and doubt.  It travels well with anger. It travels well with pity: self-pity (thus the quote my friend had in her letter).

Sometimes the trapping of guilt comes from other people — sometimes well intentioned, sometimes not.  Whatever the case, I must/we must determine to be not allow someone’s criticism or condemnation to trap us for what we were or what we’ve done, we need to reject it and not allow ourselves to wallow in the condemnation.  If we do, inevitably, guilt or shame or regret will overtake us.  It’s got to be a red flag to us!

Get unstuck from that super glue from the pit — flee that trap — it’s not from the Lord, it’s from the devil.  And here’s why:

For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus
hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
Romans 8.2

Stand fast therefore in the liberty
wherewith Christ hath made us free,
and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
Galatians 5.1

It is for freedom the Lord has set us free!

There is therefore now no condemnation
to them which are in Christ Jesus,
who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Romans 8.1

I’m praying about different things that have me “super-glued” to a past problem — seeking the Lord for His mercy and guidance.  Maybe you’re dealing with stuff, too.  I’m chiming in to say: No matter what you’ve done, where you’ve been or what’s happened:  you’re not too far from the Lord. He’s seen it all — been with you through it all. In Him there is rest.

Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.  12  For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
13  Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.  14  Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.  15  For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.  16  Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
Hebrews 4.11-16

If we had to leave in a hurry…

I’ve been thinking of this a little bit lately… what if we had to leave our home in a hurry.  No, not because of an impending flood, but for some other reason entirely.

For a little background, I guess I ought to say that we’re not all set up to survive for 90 days or two years or whatever.  We don’t have a great huge stockpile of anything.  Well, except wheat and pink salt.  We do have a bunch of both.

So, I’ve been sort of glancing here and there in our home — taking a brief mental inventory of what’s important and what’s not so important.  O, and by the way, I guess I should add that some of this thinking has been prompted by a book I was skimming.   Among many things, the author was recommending a pretty dramatic reduction of personal belongings.   In her book, SHED Your Stuff, Change Your Life, Julie Morgenstern tackles some key areas I’ve been seeking to work on in my life – from practical or physical treasures to clutter and time management.  She recommends taking a personal survey (at her website) to help identify personal strengths and weaknesses.  In addition, the results of the survey will also identify simple or challenging areas for needed improvement or change.  The SHED stands for: Separate the treasures,  Heave the trash, Embrace your identity, Drive yourself forward.  It’s not, obviously, a “Christian worldview” book — thus the skimming.

Well, back to the “what would I grab” thought.  You know how people often say that they’d grab their photos and other mementos should the house catch fire?  Well, I’ve thought about that a lot, too.   But in assessing this situation lately, I’ve been thinking, which photos??  Should I take all of them?  Which ones would I leave behind?  I’d love to be able to say that I have them all organized into special books for each child, special occasions and family events.  But no.

Then, what about all the shelves of books?  Then I thought of the special letters, cards, and gifts I’ve received from dear family and friends.  Ahhhh… but which ones would I bring?  Which ones — as in boxes — would I leave behind?   Besides my Bible, what books would I bring?  How many journals would I bring?  My computer — would I just bring my laptop?  Would I leave trinkets, jewelry, and teacups behind?  What about all the other stuff??  And, our children would take cues about what’s important in life as they witness our attention given to the most important things.  So, what would those things be?

Well, I know it would truly all depend on where we were going and if we’d never be coming back.  And, yes, if we were only driving one vehicle away.  So then, my thoughts zero in on the very, very practical:  What will we need to wear, to drink, to eat, to read, to cover up with for sleeping and what’s the most practical way to carry it all?

Since we live right next to a river and a levee,  we’ve faced these questions in a very literal and practical sense already — it sort of makes it a bit easier.  But then, obviously, we’ve always come back home.   But what would we take if we weren’t coming back home?

What if you had to suddenly leave your home… what would you take?


Thinking Thankfully

I know you might be snickering at that title — as if it were written:  “[She’s] Thinking. Thankfully!”  Well, I am working diligently at really t-h-i-n-k-i-n-g before I write, t-h-i-n-k-i-n-g before I speak and even t-h-i-n-k-i-n-g before I think on things.  If I’ve learned nothing else in the past year it is to t-h-i-n-k.  Think. Think. Think… before I do or say anything.  Still, I don’t get things right.

But tonight the thinking I’m referring to is thankful thinking — or, thinking thankfully.  Just as it’s very hard — almost impossible — to praise and complain at the same time, it is also very hard to think thankfully and yet be ungrateful at the same time.

During this month, many of us are preparing for Thanksgiving Day.  I don’t know what a lot of people do in preparation for Thanksgiving, but I know, as mothers, we spend the month (or at least a couple of weeks) planning, shopping for and preparing foods for the big feat big feast on Thanksgiving Day.

But this month can be, and really should be, devoted to much more than thinking about the Thanksgiving Day meal.  And so that’s what I’d like to encourage you with this evening: thinking thankfully.

Do you think thankfully?  I know I’ve given this a lot of thought and today, in particular, I’ve been asking myself this question: am I thinking thankfully?  When I’ve taken the time to measure a fleeting thought passing through my mind I’ve asked, was that a thankful thought?  Was that thought inspired by a thankful heart?  When I’ve been working on tasks, I’ve asked, am I thankful for this?

Thankfulness (like it’s near kinsman: gratefulness) is a decision… it’s intentional… it’s a choice.  We can choose to be thankful in whatever circumstance we face.  We really can learn to: “Count it all joy…” (James 1.2).  Sometimes a situation seems to be anything but favourable and we feel anything but thankful  — and yet! we can decide to. be. thankful.   In fact, we’re commanded to be thankful.

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
and into His courts with praise:
be thankful unto Him, and bless His name.”
–Psalm 100.4

There are numerous other mentions of giving thanks in Psalms alone.  And, it’s God’s will that we give thanks.

In every thing give thanks:
for this is the will of God
in Christ Jesus concerning you.
–1Thessalonians 5.18

Still not feeling particularly thankful?  I’ll help you:  Go get a pen and a sheet of paper – or your journal.  Start a list… and work on it — or add to it — every day this month.  Start writing down every single thing you can think of for which you are (or ought to be) thankful.   You might number the list from one to one-hundred and fill it in until you can’t think of new things.  Set it aside and come back to it later to add more.  You might use the calendar date to prompt you to make lists — for example, tomorrow is the 14th; make a list of fourteen things.  The next day, fifteen things, and so on.   Soon, you will be thankful for those things for which you ought to be thankful!!  Start inward and work outward or start outward and work inward.  Thank the Lord for the opportunity of your own life.  His gift of salvation. Jesus and redemption.  Your eyes to see, your ears to hear, your mouth to sing, your feet to walk to the water… your hands to hold your daily bread…

If you’re still having a hard time thinking of original entries, then, as I previously mentioned,  go to the Psalms — particularly Psalm 30, 105,  106, 118, and 136. Let the Psalms be your prayer.

And then, Consider Jesus…

Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
–Hebrews 12.2

O, there are so many, many things for which to be thankful — regardless our personal situations or feelings, we could never thank the Lord enough for His mercy and loving kindness to us.

God bless you.  I’m thankful for you.



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Thank you, Shiva

News DuJour:  Amazon delisted that item…
I meant to get this out early this morning.

Time constraints. Dontcha know.

Hello Pamela,
This book is no longer available for sale.
Thank you for your recent inquiry. Did I solve your problem?
If yes, please click here:
[address removed]
If no, please click here:
[address removed]

Best regards,
Shiva M
Amazon.com
Your feedback is helping us build Earth’s Most Customer-Centric Company.

“The listing and description of the item was no longer available [at Amazon] early Thursday.”  I’d like to think it was my letter (or yours) that got that item pulled.  What’s more, I’d like to think it was Amazon’s mode of decorum that led to the decision to pull the book.  Though, in reality, had that been the case, the book would never have been placed for sale there.  In the end, it was probably revenue.  Or loss of it.  And Christmastime.

This, from a  FoxNews article: “That doesn’t mean Amazon should be prohibited from selling it, countered Christopher Finan, president of the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression. He said that Amazon has the right under the First Amendment to sell any book that is not child pornography or legally obscene. Finan said Greaves’ book doesn’t amount to either because it does not include illustrations.”

He believes the book is not ‘child pornography’ or ‘legally obscene’ because it  “…does not include illustrations.”    Mmmmhmmm.

The author of the book, Philip Greaves’ purpose in writing the book: “This is my attempt to make pedophile situations safer for those juveniles that find themselves involved in them, by establishing certian [sic] rules for these adults to follow,” a product description read. “I hope to achieve this by appealing to the better nature of pedosexuals, with hope that their doing so will result in less hatred and perhaps liter[sic sic] sentences should they ever be caught.”

The book’s author sought to make “Pedophile situations safer…” ?!?!?!?!   Additionally, “…appealing to the better nature of pedosexuals…” ???!!!???!!!  “…Less hatred…” ???!!!!???!!!!  “…Lighter sentences…” ?!?!?!??!!!?!?!!!  “…if they should ever be caught.”  ?!?!?!!?!?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!????????

That’s what abusers never get.   They never get it that their behaviour, their addiction, their actions are wrong and they wreck lives.  Regardless of political correctness, this must not be excused.  Children must be guarded and protected from people who would use them to satisfy depraved individual needs.   This isn’t about sexual preference or needs or whatever.    Children must be protected from adults who would use them in any sexual manner – in whatever form: suggestion, written, cinema, drama, virtual, physical, emotional, etc., etc.

The author of the book in question believes his book will be restored at Amazon as there are other pedophile books in Amazon’s inventory.

  • Sad day for Mariner’s fans and friends and family of the beloved Dave Niehaus.  He passed away yesterday — a heart attack — at age 75.  There were two things I loved about Mariner’s baseball seasons… 1.) watching Timothy listen to the game on the radio. 2.) hearing the thrill and excitement in Dave Niehaus’s voice after any spectacular play! Especially a home run!  My-o-My, get out the rye bread and the mustard, Grandma!  My-Oooooooo-My!   It was as if the Mariner’s actually played baseball in our kitchen!  So, it’s a great loss for baseball… for the team and for Seattle.  Dave Niehaus: quite an icon, “the voice of Summer,” Seattle’s legendary voice.  Sad day.
  • It’s Veteran’s Day.  Everyone’s having a SALE!
    Thank you, Veterans, for the sacrifices you’ve made — intending for the safety and sovereignty of our country.

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Amazon

I very rarely promote store boycotts or product-boycotts  — mostly bcz I couldn’t possibly keep on top of who sells what and where egregiously offensive materials, products, etc., etc., are sold and bcz of the huge impracticality of such boycotts.  But sometimes something is brought to my attention that I cannot ignore.  Stuff dealing with the use/abuse of children — especially when that stuff negatively impacts their sexuality, their well being or how they’re treated by their families and/or caregivers — for these, I must not remain silent.  And, in a round about way, I’m asking you to not remain silent either.

Even if I were not a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, though I am —  more importantly, I’m a mother of many children and, as such, it is both my duty and honour to defend and protect them from people who would use or abuse them.  Sexual abuse is more rampant than we imagine… most people cannot even imagine it to be a reality.  But it is.  It’s a sickening, gripping reality for those who experience(d) it.

So, Amazon.  The book, “The Pedophile’s Guide to Love and Pleasure: a Child-lover’s Code of Conduct” by Philip R. Greaves II, offers advice to pedophiles afraid of becoming the center of retaliation. It is an electronic book available for Amazon.com Inc.’s Kindle e-reader.

I like Amazon — I even recommend it — but always with this personal disclaimer: I don’t endorse everything Amazon sells or offers or advertises.  Same with Costco, by the way.  Or  Winco, Walmart, Target.  Or the local pet store.  Or The Seattle Times newspaper.

Write to Amazon – go through their customer service…  Ask them to remove this product from their catalog.

for the woman in the mirror

Facing the woman in the mirror…  and getting her to do what she ought:  O,  what a challenge, sometimes!!  I know this.  I know this painfully well.

And so… I want to share with you some things you might do to help the woman in the mirror. Don’t “muddle” through life… there is help and there is hope.Your tomorrows do not have to be like your yesterdays.

I’ve sometimes thought, with dread, that things will never change.  I’ve sometimes thought, again with dread, that I will never change… that I will never get a handle on this or that struggle.Every now and then, when things seem to be going swell — it seems that all of a sudden, like a strong gust of wind or a wave:  personal failures flow over me — accusations level me, fear grips me, other people’s opinions blast me.  In such times, I’m once again faced with the strong, overwhelming thought: I will never get past this.   You know, God is not the author of such a thought – the devil is the author of such a thought!!  Experience has taught me that in such times,  I need to face the trial, attack, guilt, fear, etc., etc.,  and ask what part do I have in it? What does the LORD want me to do?  And then I must yield to whatever He leads.  No matter how daunting it may seem — or how humbling.

If you’re facing troubles, dilemmas, trials, hurts, hopelessness, fear or whatever…  You may need to make some dramatic changes.  You may need to set or reset some boundaries.  You may need to completely change how you’re currently handling things. —  your thoughts, your self-talk, your schedule, your computer time, your reading materials, your food, your exercise, your conversations, etc., etc.  You’ll probably need help implementing changes.

PRAY!! Talk with the LORD.  Talk with your husband, talk with  a trusted friend.  PRAY!!  Study the Word *and* journal your studies!  Study up on the problem you’re dealing with, get help — don’t go it alone — you need to be careful to not get in a trap of defeat, of hopelessness, of worthlessness, etc.  If people have let you down or if situations are troubling you or if you’re facing depression… talk these things over with your husband and/or trusted friend.  Trust the Lord with all these things.

If there are things in your life, patterns of living, etc., that don’t bring glory to God or honour to your husband and family — confess those things as sin and repent of those things .  Set your mind to CHANGE THOSE THINGS.  Get off that path a day at a time, a step at a time.

Make a list of things you need to do.  Add to that list the things you want to do.  Arrange that list into a daily routine.  Print that list out and follow it.  Everyday: consult the list in the morning, check off the things you accomplish and review what’s left to do; set about doing them at the first opportunity.  Determine to not be deterred from doing what you know the Lord has called you to do.  Others may do things differently, others may mock you, the enemy may mock you, others may question what you’re doing – you may even be or feel rejected… but if the Lord has called you to do something, do it heartily – as unto Him.

Do good things:  good things for your husband, good things for your family, good things for you.  Doing good will require sacrifice and will likely require repentance.  Doing good may be painful or  even lonely at first. Whatever the “good” is that you’re called to do, you can be assured  if the LORD has directed it, He *will* supply for you.

If the Lord is speaking to your heart today — touching on things that need to go or things that need to be done or changed — TODAY is the day to take your first step of obedience to the Lord and yield to His call on your life.  Today is the day of salvation.  Today is the day to start doing the things you know you ought to do.  Follow the Lord today.

Seek the LORD — seek wisdom.
You will find Him and you will find peace and joy.
Things might not seem to change right away.
Things might take time to set in order.
Your life will not always be the same as it is today;
There will be another chapter.

The Lord will work all these things together for good.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
Lean not on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him and
He will make your path straight.

seventeen years

teacuppamela.pngIn a moment, in a twinkling of an eye…  it hardly seems possible that seventeen years have passed by since our seventh child was born.  How marvelous the Lord has been to bless us with this son.  How sweet the Lord is.  I am taking the time to write about this tonight bcz over the years I’ve talked to many, many women who’re ambivalent to yield their childbearing to the will and determination of the Lord.

I’ve noticed there’s sort of a point of questioning family size at odd times.  I’ll give you some examples.  Most Christian families would say and agree that the Lord always provides.  And then, most families, at some point or another, face financial difficulties.  Faith is shaken and they question the Lord’s providence.   And their family size.

Another example of questioning might come along with aging.   Birthdays can be odd.  One birthday may come and go with no real fanfare or notice.  But add a zero to a higher first digit and odd things happen. I’ve noticed that twenty-nine year old women, as do thirty-nine year old women, have a crisis of belief as the next birthday approaches — sort of like moving the large weight on the scale at the doctor’s office.  Advancing age (remember 30 is *old* to many women) makes some women feel like they’re past their prime and they’re too old to have children.  These are usually the ages when men and women start to calculate what their own age will be when their last child is twenty.  And, face it, to a thirty year old or to a forty year old, fifty or sixty years old seems quite ancient!

Another point of questioning family size usually comes along at another odd time.  Odd numbered children seem to really grab the attention of mothers and dads.  They might think, ah, we have two… what’s this?  Three children?  Or they might have four children and a fifth is on the way — that seems staggering to some.  But I’ve noticed, in particular, that the tipping point for most families is that seventh child.  That seventh child ushers in a whole new dynamic.   Perhaps it’s bcz at seven children, the size of the family vehicle really becomes an issue.  Bedding and bedroom arrangement becomes an issue.  Seating at the dining table becomes an issue (as did going from four to five and so on).   Sets of dishes, sets of silverware and a host of other things change when a family of eight becomes a family of nine as the seventh child is born.

It seems, though, that it was at the point of the pregnancy and birth of the seventh child, that we seemed to have come to both a very strong conviction and resolute conclusion that the Lord was (and is) Lord of the womb and that it was His to open or to close, His to provide or withhold, His to determine and it was ours to yield to Him.

It was the precious gift and birth of our seventh child that really did resolve for me the questions and concerns about the present and future days being solely in the Hand of the Lord.  So, then, it was in faith that we resolved to not question the Lord or to feel apologetic for His dealing in our life.  I think it was at that point that I knew that I knew He was working in a unique way and that had He chosen one or none or seven children — He, alone, was Lord and He, alone, had the preeminence as the merciful, only faithful, only wise God.

The morning the baby was born, Wes named our son, Stephen — the naming of each of the children is a story for another time — and he prayed that as he grew, God would mightily use this young man for His purposes and that whatever happened to Stephen in his life, may his life be fully yielded to the Lord and may he stand up for the Lord, as a minister of the gospel — faithful to the end.

How grateful I am to the merciful Lord for the precious gift of Stephen, our seventh child, born November 2nd… seventeen years ago.   We’ve surely seen that the Lord’s will, done His way, does not lack His supply.

pamelasig2.jpg…

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motherhood means goodbyes

The goodbye’s of motherhood.  I’ll tell you, I never thought about this end of the deal as the children were coming along and our family increased in size every other year.  I didn’t even think about it when the children would go on occasional outings or when they headed off to camp every once in a great while.  It just didn’t occur to me.  I don’t know why — but it didn’t.  O, sure, I did nod my head in total ignorance agreement when women would give me knowing smiles and advice that these days would go so fast.   I would agree with them — as. if. I. understood.

But, I’m telling you, I know now — that I really had no idea what lay ahead.  I’m pretty sure I thought we’d always be “us”  and things would just go along.  I’d be in the kitchen cooking, baking and cleaning and we’d always be home-educating or home-birthing or drinking 10 gallons of milk a week and I’d be driving a whole van-full of children around f.o.r.e.v.e.r.  I’m sure I thought we’d a.l.w.a.y.s. be whatever, wherever, however we were.  You know, us.  Always us.

But then there were more goodbyes.   Marriage, leaving home, missions trips, camps.  Goodbyes. How could the raw emotion of the goodbyes have been so surprising when it began to happen with more frequency?

I don’t know… but the well of motherly emotion with each goodbye was (and still is) surprising to me.  So, I’ve had to revisit this matter of goodbye’s and reevaluate my thinking to accept the wonderful fact that motherhood means goodbyes.  And it is a wonderful fact, really.

Each goodbye means a new adventure.  Each goodbye means things are happening — and, for the most part, each goodbye is really a blessing.  It’s taken a lot of goodbyes to finally begin to realize and rejoice over this.  This is what I’ve wanted – for I haven’t been mothering so I could keep them with me — I’ve been mothering for the sheer joy of giving them to the Lord in gratitude for His blessing me with their life and for whatever He had prepared ahead for them.  Our children are God’s gift to Himself.

Ye are our epistle written in our hearts,
known and read of all men”
2Corinthians 3.2

As we drove to the airport last week, we arrived and Timothy hopped out of the car, bag and backpack in hand.  I was happy for him — happy he had another mission opportunity, happy for the adventure that lay ahead for him and happy that the Lord had healed and strengthened him that this was even possible.  Happy… really.

And the car door closed and it was time to drive away.  Still smiling at the adventure that lay ahead for him.

And then it began to rain.

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