Category: Potpourri

I’ve just recently begun an attempt “update” this site and in the process I’ve come across many broken links, etc.  But, I’ve also realized that this site may still be a valuable service or resource for women—for mothers, grandmothers, wives, homemakers, sisters in the Lord. That’s what’s prompting the writing of this post… I think this site still matters. 🙂 This may sound self-aggrandizing, but that was not/is not at all my intention. In the late 90’s, with the proliferation of instantly(!) available information, bulletin boards, email, lists, news and all sorts of websites, I began gathering/bookmarking what I considered to be helpful: information, encouragement, resources, and more. I was astounded at the instant answers to questions I had, history I wanted to read, health/family information I wanted to research and, obviously, so much more.

Initially for myself, but then for other mothers, I began or categorize the information into various files.  I began an online Bible study and newsletter.  Shortly afterward, the “AChristianHome” website was created.  It’s just occurred to me that I was so missing the “Gentle Spirit” magazine I used to receive during the late 80’s – early 90’s. If you ever read that magazine, you’ll understand the connection to other “like-minded” women. It’s interesting I’ve not noticed a correlation to the Gentle Spirit years until now as the desire to minister to women is resurfacing.

Building the ACH website was an exciting inspiration to me as I saw “come to life” my goal to encourage other women as I had appreciated what I’d received in my own life.  I’d had opportunities to contribute to magazines, share at retreats, and Bible studies so, naturally, creating an online resource seemed like a great idea.  But! As I’ve written about through the years here, it *unfortunately* became akin to an addiction, all consuming from time to time — so much so, that I’ve had to occasionally “step away” in order to realign my focus — especially regarding my life’s responsibilities and aim — the very things I was writing and linking! Various posts here & here… and more.

There’s much to do to eliminate broken links, defunct sites, but it’ll probably be slow-going as I’ve decided not to be preoccupied with it all even knowing that oodles of broken links might be, or will be!, exasperating to readers.

For today, I hope this site is helpful/encouraging to you.
And… I pray you’re pressing on toward the mark for the prize of the High Calling of God in Christ Jesus. The Lord surely is merciful. I pray He blesses you, your home, and the work of your hands… encouraging you to stand firm… in Him.

Next Chapters… there have been many next chapters in life. Generally speaking, I don’t think I’ve realized I was in a next chapter until I was pretty immersed in it. When we put our beloved Snohomish farmhouse on the market three and a half years ago, I don’t know that I was aware a next chapter had begun. And because we didn’t move away immediately after the sale, the awareness still hadn’t set in.

Unfamiliar with the neighbourhood, I had to pay strict attention to new landmarks, street signs, etc., for many weeks following the move away from the farmhouse. A landmark I hadn’t initially noticed sure did bring the tears each time I made the first of a few turns in our new neighbourhood. It was a willow tree. For awhile, I found it easier to turn on the next block so I wouldn’t have to see it.

Over time, after many months — a year, maybe more — I began to come to grips with the reality that I was in the next chapter. I would never live in the former again. Everything was changed — nothing would ever go the same old way again — even though I often lived as though I wasn’t staying here, but that I would one day be able to go back home.

So many things pointed to the reality of this next chapter. This next chapter was well underway and I hardly noticed it. O, sure, I was noticing change, I was noticing my lack of interest here, the emptying nest, the perplexing difference between a farmhouse surrounded by land (glorious land!) and the tightly spaced houses in this neighbourhood… dog walkers, delivery trucks, kids playing in the street, and a gazillion cars and trucks parked everywhere.

But the reality of the next chapter truly only sank in when I realized we were back to just us. For the first time in well over 40 years, we were/are just us. And so began this next chapter. And it’s sweet. In the busyness of bringing up children, be self-employed in a ‘seasonal’ business, and all the life events along the way, I’m not so sure we ever even had conversations along the lines of: When we grow old and the children move away… what are we going to do?  I’m not sure the thought even entered our minds.

But it has now. And so, here we stand at another crossroads in life and we are content watching the Lord lay out the road before us in this next chapter.

I felt compelled to share this message today bcz I got to thinking maybe someone’s standing in a similar place… not where you were, not where you thought you’d be, maybe not where you want to be, not sure where you’re going or what you’ll do when you get there.  I pray that you’ll see joy again.

A line from a Booth Brothers song comes to mind pretty much every day:
Take another step, and another step, and another step, trust God and take another step, and another step, and another step…

Many times I have stated or thought in times of trial: The arm or the hand of the Lord is not shortened that it cannot save – nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. I say this in the face of difficult situations, disappointments, poor health, wayward children, losses, financial reverses or adversity, and, among many other things, despair. I resolve to watch for the Hand of the Lord.

Have you ever sought to understand or answer: How long is the arm of the Lord or how great is the hand of the Lord? And if we cannot begin to answer the question: how long is the arm or hand of the Lord, then how can we possibly fathom that the arm or the hand of the Lord is not shortened that it cannot save.

“Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:”
Isaiah 59.1

How great is the Hand of the Lord? The Lord who created all things, The Lord who holds back the sea, The Lord who shakes the trees of the wilderness, The Lord who calms the sea that the wind and the waves obey Him, The Lord who who redeems…
—Isaiah 52.2 “Is my hand shortened at all, that it cannot redeem?” Do you see: at. all. “Is my hand shortened at all…”

There is nothing too hard for the Lord. I may face a mountain of troubles, I may grieve or struggle with health trials or disappointment or loss or financial adversity – but this I know –I know– there is nothing too hard for the Lord. Nothing. The hand of the Lord is not shortened at all. There is no life, no situation, no trial, no hardship too far or too hard for the Lord. The hand of the Lord is not shortened at all. The enemy of God, the enemy of our souls would have us to believe otherwise. The enemy, the devil, would have us to believe that we are without hope, that we have failed too many times – or worse, that we’re beyond hope – beyond hope of ever doing better, ever getting things right. The enemy may even persuade us to believe that it would be better if we were dead – that our life is of little use or worth – that we’re the only ones with this or that type of troubles or sins or perpetual destructive habits.

The enemy is constantly prowling around, warring against our members seeking whom he may devour. He is at once our tempter, deceiver and accuser. Consider that when temptation comes, it is seemingly harmless, easy and without consequence: Here… have this food, tell this lie, destroy this evidence, no one will see, no one will know, tell that secret… or whatever. But then if we yield to temptation – whatever it is, instantly(!) our tempter becomes our accuser: Ha, how could you have been so dumb, how could you have done that, you always do that, you’ll never get past this, you’ll never be thin, healthy, strong, trustworthy, competent… or whatever.

But God. We turn to God, we turn to the Truth: And we hear: “Is my hand shortened at all…?”

I think of the verse: “This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.” —Psalm 34.6 You see, the Lord hears and the Lord heals and the Lord lifts. He is at once indeed: Jehovah-jireh (The Lord our provider) and Jehovah-rapha (The Lord our healer) and Jehovah-shammah (The Lord is present) and Jehovah-Shalom (The Lord our peace).

HE will save you. HE will lift you up. His arm is not shortened that it cannot save you… He is able to save to the uttermost. (Hebrews 7.25)
That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the LORD,
that it is mighty: that ye might fear the LORD your God for ever.    —Joshua 4.24

Or so we said whenever someone visited and was hesitant to jump in…

I’ve never figured out the exact purpose of this blog, the direction I wanted to steer it or the specific content I’d write or curate. But, one thing I know, for a couple of decades now, I’ve been drawn to write, drawn to share, drawn to connect near and far with sisters in the Lord who find themselves in the midst of the garden of life: growing and thriving, in the day-after-day busy, in the hustle and bustle of family, or in the looking back wondering where the time went, or in the spending quiet, all alone, days….

I am or have been in each… reminiscing, looking back, looking ahead… striving, stopping, regretting, laughing, hoping, forgetting, crying,  remembering… and through it all, tripping or stepping heavenward.

It’s all part of the journey… I’m seeing, on the path to later motherhood.  Through it all, I’d still say: jump in, the water’s fine. I said it in my carefree childhood to a friend too nervous to jump in the pool, and later to a young mom afraid to start a family, and still later to an older mom fearful to have more children or, over the years, to let go and watch her children leave the nest for their own life’s journeys.

Things haven’t turned out the way I thought they would.  In many ways, they haven’t turned out as I planned, or hoped, or wished, or imagined. But. And this is more important: they’re turning out the way God’s allowed them to. From all I’ve seen and read and heard, I can trust Him. I can trust Him for whatever comes… from my failures, my perceived successes, my missed opportunities, and my fairly okay attempts to do what I was called to do.  In the end, the children (and their children) are for Him to guide; the earth is His, the world is His… all the children belong to Him and from all I’ve seen and read and heard, He’s all we need.

My feeble attempt to make my way back into these pages is just this: I’ll be sharing what He’s doing, what I’m doing and learning and how it’s all turning out.

My trust and hope in the Lord hasn’t wavered… He is still my All in all, the Hope of Glory.

And the Jump in, the water’s fine title? That was for me… nervously blogging for the first time in a year or so.

with love and blessings….

The first verse of the beautiful hymn, Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus: “O, soul are you weary and troubled? No light in the darkness you see?” is a line that resonates with many of us in various seasons or from time to time, I’m sure. Maybe you’re in such a season or are facing such a time right now. Maybe you’re coming out of such a season or space of time and on the other side you’re seeing the answer to the weary, the trouble, the darkness: “There’s light for a look at the Savior, And life more abundant and free!”

I’ve spent the better part of a year seeking that more abundant life: listening to hymns and gospel music most all day, every day. Quiet mornings in the Word and in prayer, journaling slices of life — followed by music to fill my mind all day. Life changes, disappointments, sorrows, loss, health challenges, and waiting… lots of waiting on the Lord for things to be completed or brought to pass.  Through it all, I trace the Hand of the Lord; through it all, I see His mercy and experience His grace.

Through it all, I know that I know that I know:
(verse 3)
His Word shall not fail you—He promised;
Believe Him and all will be well:
Then go to a world that is dying,
His perfect salvation to tell!

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of heart will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace.

Though I’ve desired to write/blog for some time. Some days I sit here at the table, looking at this computer and think: I’ll write when the storms pass. I’ll write when I can share words of some value. I’ll write when I get it together. Today I’m writing and it seems those criteria aren’t really met or present. But today I simply write in the light of His mercy, in the midst of a storm, weary and a little troubled. But, really, being weary or troubled in the midst of a storm doesn’t prevent me from seeing the loving face of my Saviour—being weary or troubled doesn’t cause me do doubt Him for a minute.

Nothing escapes His gaze: His eye is on the sparrow in the midst of a storm.  Before me He stretches out His hand and bids me—again—to follow Him—to look to Him—to trust in Him.

I look up and see His glory and grace.
I open my hands and catch the rain of His mercy.
I wait on Him to guide my steps.

I trust Him — for all I’ve seen, all I’ve heard, all I’ve experienced: (verse 2) “Through death into Life everlasting, He passed and we follow Him there; over us sin hath no more dominion—for more than conquerers we are!”

Sisters, believe this. It’s true. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. (John 14.6)
This is the Good News. HE will carry you. He will save you, guide you, provide for you wherever you are. The truth is in Him. The Truth is in His Word.

Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus
(written by Helen H. Lemmel in 1918)

Very recently I’ve had to update this site (some of the differences are very noticeable while others are unchanged) as I was using a WordPress theme that is no longer fully supported by the WordPress platform.  I began to notice that certain functions were no longer working, necessitating the change.

I didn’t advance with the times regarding the intricacies of technology so I don’t have the eagerness nor the curiosity to explore building another website and certainly don’t possess the depth of knowledge required to even begin to do it. So I’ve been quasi content with the WordPress ‘plug it in and go‘ method of blogging and adding pages.   It is not (to me) nearly as interesting, pretty, unique or rewarding as it was 22 years ago as I began to “build” the AChristianHome website, but I still have the same strong desire and sincere passion to produce/write letters & content and to convey experiences, ideas, inspiration and instruction in good things for women and families,

In the right ‘side bar’ under TWH Pages:
I’ve added a bunch of links to specific pages, articles, etc., on the antiquated AChristianHome website pages. Many are over 20 years old now. Imagine that!!

Hopefully I’ll have more transferred/added in the weeks to come.  Thanks for being here!

More and more I find that what I used to consider my greatest hindrances were, in fact, actually my greatest teachers.  I used to believe that all my troubles were attributable to lack of finances and consequently, thought all of them could be solved by a surplus.  I considered all the disadvantages and often almost totally overlooked the great trust and creativity I was developing and gaining over the years.   I used to overlook what God was placing right before my eyes.  Troubled with how things were going to work out—crippled by fear that they wouldn’t, days were difficult and money seemed so scarce.  Little did I know at the time that I would look back on the more difficult days and remember them with sort of fond, but perhaps bittersweet, emotion.

I’m sorry for the young woman who was so fearful, but happy for the way the LORD did provide and for all they ways she learned to cope, learned to be creative, learned to be hopeful, learned to trust and increased in faith.  But the younger woman who used to live in my shoes was often plagued by the “what will people think” albatross, and was sometimes shackled by doubts and insecurities – as I suppose we all are from time to time, but when they become interwoven in every thought, then they’re like that heavy, paralyzing albatross.

The LORD worked through all those sorts of situations and blessed me with a sort of “blindness” to my situation—sort of a “rose coloured glasses” tenor to my life—and brought me through those valleys.  I began to see things less and less for what they were and more and more for what I hoped they would be.  Sure, the lack of finances still was a hindrance, but I stopped allowing myself to feel as though that defined me or my family.  I decided to stop getting tripped up in the trappings of the have’s and have not’s in life—they weren’t helping me.  I decided to not let my possessions (or lack thereof) define who I was or who I am—other people may have judged me in that manner—but I never wanted to be that shallow and I knew the LORD didn’t want that for me either.  He was taking me through the school of contentment.  Had I not had lack, I’d not have learned to be very creative with what I did have and I suppose I might’ve become smug or assume it was all my doing when there were great increases and successes. I surely know that whatever good has come, whatever gain I’ve experienced – successes, benefits or blessings have all been of the LORD.

Learning to trust God for things unseen or things unknown is perhaps more difficult for some than for others—I know that for myself, it was a struggle to trust:  that what I could not see was already seen and covered by the LORD.  My fretting and my doubting never helped me or the situation I faced, regardless of whether the situation was financial, physical or vocational.  Looking back, some of the times of the greatest doubt or greatest fear are now the sweetest memories to me.

Some of the deepest valleys produced the richest fruit and it’s faith from those lessons that has guided me through the more recent years and the struggles or trials we’ve faced.  When trails have been forged or mountains scaled, the path is a bit less daunting each time it’s traversed and with each passing, faith is strengthened and trust is deepened.  With each passing year, the have’s and the have not’s are less and less noticeable to me and my concern is less self-focused.   Pride is an ugly thing I came to see… for it is often pride that keeps us from living and giving – pride is that gripping thing that prevents us from being transparent, from being open and vulnerable.  We all have it to some degree or another and sometimes when we very least anticipate it, pride wells up and swallows us. Gains and losses are the great equalizers in life—they happen to all of us.  Same with fear and doubt—but some people are just better at hiding fears and doubts than others.  It’s the admission of those fears and doubts that is the beginning of turning from them and yielding to the LORD.

Because I know my Redeemer lives and ever lives to make intercession for me—for us—, I know that I can trust Him beyond a shadow of doubt, that what He has promised to do, that will He do—He promised to never leave me nor forsake me and He promises in His Word that He will complete that which He has begun.  What He’s begun in you – He will complete!

So the LORD has used trials as teachers, loss as gain, and lack: to fill me.   His faithfulness truly has been great and His mercies have been new every morning.  Now when financial set backs come or when there seem to lack of funds, I have learned to anticipate the Hand of the LORD and to watch for what He will do.  Thirty-five years in the swimming-pool business in the chilly Northwest has given our family ample opportunity to watch the Hand of the LORD both guide and provide—sometimes in the most surprising and unusual ways.  As with so many other things in life, I’m learning to see this much more quickly than I did in the early years.   He has proven Himself faithful… and I’m seeing this more and more in the seen, or outward things of life as well as in the unseen, or the inward things of life.

always in His hands, p.