"Now THAT just 'aint' human!!"

But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you.
Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.
...

NOPE!! That's not the "natural" human way. It takes the SUPERNATURAL Presence of the abiding Holy Spirit to do this. No........I don't know of anyone who has actually cursed me, but you know what I mean...
That annoying person that you just might have a personality clash with, or are just on two different wave lengths with.........nothing in common.
I'm not the most polished person, but God has mellowed me out some over the years....
It's also been humbling to find out over the years that just perhaps I DIDN'T have all my ducks in a row.
It's a lot easier to love others when one really sees oneself as Christ does, full of faults and failures. I'm so glad He's still working on me!
Today, Lord, help me to love as You do, as I want You and others to love me!!

The Keen Edge

 

Amy and Joey gave us an awesome knife set/block for Christmas. Amy has fussed at me for years about how dull my knives are. I've assured her they are sharp and quite adequate.

The morning after Christmas I picked out a new one to slice some ham. I was not prepared.... It's a wonder I didn't lose a finger... Oh, yeah.... MAYBE my knives are sharp!!! Without any more persuasion from my daughter, I reached into the second drawer, pulled out every old knife I ha...d, and into the trash it went. It took a sharp knife to convince me that mine were dull....

This morning....Jon and I listened to Matthew 24, 25...and so on.

As I listened....my heart was so stirred..
Jesus first came as a poor helpless baby in a manger. He walked the earth as a lowly peasant. But next time..

When Christ returns, He will come in power and great glory!!!!

In that day men will be eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage.... I don't think this means partying and nightclubbing... but life going on as usual... You know, just like today.. The hum drum of the normal... morning coffee, off to work, whatever is the norm..

We often plan our lives... that vacation coming up, that visit from family, that anticipated event... Sometimes it's fulfilled, sometimes life changes things.

But God's timeline, His schedule unfolds perfectly according to His plan and purpose. Just as after 400 years of silence, in the fullness of time, Mary brought forth her son...

In the fullness of time, when God says time shall be no more...perhaps not at that emotional moment when I'm listening to a song about Christ's return, perhaps not at the moment when I'm in church feeling His Presence in an unusual way...

Perhaps it will be when I'm feeling the weakest, going about life as usual... Perhaps it will be when I'm watching two busy grandson's, fixing a meal for Hubs, visiting with an aid.... at that inopportune moment..

When I heard those words this morning, I felt so much more than emotion. I felt a strong bedrock faith, a deep unshakable faith that indeed HE is coming!!!

Lord, don't let my life become dull...and I don't even recognize it!! Lord, keep my life on the keen edge...useful, serviceable, busy for you...

As I sat by my window looking out, fog has everything shrouded in a deep mist. But I KNOW it could be today...

This could be the dawning of That Day!!!!

Happy Anniversary! Our Sweet Jennifer put this together for us

Family

For those of you not on Facebook, here are a few pictures to update you..

Cameron and JB have both had huge growth spurts this year!

 

This photo of my #3, Lyndy Lou, and #2, Jiff...was taken just a couple of days ago. Jon Abram's family is still living in Washington State. I haven't seen these two sweet girls in two years....way too long.

 Melinda loves hats just like her great-grandmother Sowers.

 A typical Saturday morning at Nanny and Papa's house.

 I love this picture of Jon Abram's family taken last fall.

 Our dear son, Jon Abram

 Just before Christmas last year, Melody flew in to visit us. We were so happy.

Saying a sad good-bye! Since then, Melody has taken a Nanny job with a church family and is now in Canada...

Hope you enjoy these.

Erica's Homecoming

 Just a couple of weeks ago, Erica had her Senior Homecoming. She was so wonderfully surprised when her Father, Mark, flew in and showed up to walk her in own this most important occasion.

 

 

 

 

Erica and her parents, Mark and Amy 

 

Her paternal grandfather and her step-grandmother, Francis. 

 

Erica with her mother and step-dad, Joey. She wished her step-mom, Chris,and her little sisters could have been there.

 

Erica and her mother.

 

 

Erica and JBc

 

Erica and Cam

 

As you can see, Erica has a lot of family and is dearly loved by all.

 

On Our 45th Anniversary.. Feb. 19th, 2016

Jon  sat in his chair this morning and read from the beautiful Psalm 91.. It has always been one of our favorites we have shared. He read it aloud for our devotions the night we were married...almost 45 long years ago... Then we were young and strong. I watched him read now... oxygen hose aiding his breathing, his hair thinning and gray around the edges.... The beautiful words flowing over my soul....filling my heart afresh and anew...
"He that dwelleth in the secret place of... the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." our prayer for our life together...
That is the first verse....
But this morning it was the last verse that just grabbed my heart...
"With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.."
It was as though I took a book and with my thumb, fanned the pages from beginning to end, almost feeling the gentle breeze from the pages...time fleeing before me..
These two verses seemed to be book ends...from we SHALL... to He HAS.. We have dwelled under His shadow...and He has given us long life... But the long life isn't really the most important thought here... it is that HE HAS and even now DOES SATISFY!!!
A couple of days ago I got our our love letters, now yellowed with age.... The pages were filled with our longings to follow Christ... A journey we could never imagined.. one that has been more wonderful than we ever dreamed... A Christ who has shown us His salvation!!
If you haven't tried my Jesus.... I promise you He will never be a disappointed you...all the days of your life.
I so love the words of this song...which expresses my feeling so well:
Well, I tried Him and I found His promises are true
He’s everything He said that He would be
The finest words I know cannot begin to tell
Just how much He really means to me
For He’s more wonderful than my mind can conceive
He’s more wonderful than my heart can believe
He goes beyond my highest hopes and fondest dream
He’s everything that my soul ever longed for
Everything He promised and so much more
More than amazing
More than marvelous
More than miraculous could ever be
He’s more wonderful
That’s what Jesus is to me

"I Shall Return.."

Blessed good Sabbath morning, dear friends and family!

 

How about a history lesson....moving from A.D. 33 to 1944....?

 

In 1942, General Douglas MacArthur was forced to retreat from the Philippines to Australia. As he left the island, he made a promise to the Philippino people, "I shall return!"

 

As the war raged and the Philippine nationals suffered greatly(90,000 civilians died) the people pressed on...fighting bravely and holding on to a hope...a promise by a great man they trusted...General Douglas MacArthur!! They held on, believing he would surely keep his promise to them!

 

On October 20th, 1944...hope became sight. Since no landing craft was available, General Douglas MacArthur waded ashore....and once more stepped on the Philippine island! There he spoke his famous words:

 

"People of the Philippines: I have returned. By the grace of Almighty God our forces stand again on Philippine soil..." A promise kept...after two long years!

 

Jon and I are reading through Acts again... This morning we were listening to it on our dramatized audio Bible. We hadn't gotten through chapter one before my heart was just slammed with His Presence!!  I remembered another promise!  One made by the greatest "man" of all time!  One who ALWAYS keeps His promises!!!!

 

In verse 11 we see the disciples gazing up into the heavens into which Christ had disappeared... they then spoke to the disciples who have must have been still rather awestruck...with the fact that Jesus was gone from them...and with the supernatural way in which He departed!  "Why stand ye gazing up into heaven. This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into Heaven!"

 

In John 14, Jesus had earlier given this same promise to His disciples..

 

 "Let not your heart be troubled:ye believe in God, believe also in Me.

 In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you.

 I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I WILL COME AGAIN,      and  receive you unto Myself: that where I am, there ye may be also!"

 

So this morning while listening to Acts...my heart just overflowed... this same Jesus WILL COME AGAIN!!! General Douglas MacArthur was a great man, but ONLY  a man!!

 

This man Jesus, the divine God man, Jesus, has NEVER... and NEVER WILL  fail to keep His promises!!  He said, I shall return....

 

How much greater is our source of hope than the one the dear Philippine nationals had... Yet they fought on...never surrendering. Never 

failing... because they KNEW their "savior" would return.

 

We can trust Jesus!!! Coming again, coming again... Oh, what a wonderful day that will be.. Jesus IS COMING AGAIN!!

 

Fight one faithful friends....look up... it could be today!!!