‘Waiting is one of the great arts.’ Allingham

Wait on the LORD:
be of good courage,
and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait,
I say, on the LORD.
Psalms 27:14

Is this what my waiting looks like?

First week: Hopeful, confident, cheery

Second week: optimistic, philosophical, edgy

Third week: discouraged, depressed, snarly

Fourth week: Have mercy! Hurry up please it’s time!!!!!
I don’t care what happens just let the torment be over!

Fifth week: I don’t want to talk about it.
Don’t you dare tell me the Universe knows best.

Indeterminable time in the future: Oh my God. You’re kidding! Really!
You wouldn’t joke about this, would you? I don’t believe it!
thankyouthankyouthankyou!!!!!

Romancing the Ordinary, Sarah Ban Breathnach

My soul, wait thou only upon God;
for my expectation is from him.
Psalms 62:5

But if we hope for that we see not,
then do we with patience wait for it.
Romans 8:25

Published in: on June 27, 2017 at 4:35 am  Leave a Comment  
Tags: , , , , ,

Fill My Cup, Lord. . .


Fill my cup, Lord.
I hold it up to you with outstretched hands.
My heart parched and thirsty for your living water.

Fill ,my cup with your love, Lord.
Help me to feel your hands holding mine,
feel your arms around me,
feel your love empowering me.
Fill me with quietness and encouragement and trust.

Help me to live for you when trials, difficulties,
and storms hit me and those I love so deeply.
Help me not to give up when giving up seems easier.
Help me to trust you when I don’t feel like trusting anymore.

When I know pain, fill my cup with prayer.
Teach me the secrets of service and surrender.

Fill my cup, Lord, I lift it up to you.
Lift me up to do your will with love and sacrifice,
Never forgetting what you sacrificed for me—
Your Son.
My Messiah.
My Lord Jesus Christ.

Help me, Lord, to accept where I am now.
Help me to know I’m not stuck forever in my circumstances.
Help me remember that the windows do open
and that fresh breezes do blow in
and that living water forever flows
and that those who ask receive.

I’m asking now, Lord.
I’m holding my cup in my hands.
And I’m asking you to fill it . . .with you.
Fill my cup with
God the Father,
God the Son,
and God the Holy Spirit,

And when my cup springs a leak,
As earthen vessels are prone to do.
Then I’ll just have to ask again,
Trusting in your love
To fill me again . . .
and thanking you!
Amen
Emilie Barnes, Fill My Cup, Lord

Wherein ye greatly rejoice,
though now for a season,
if need be, ye are in heaviness
through manifold temptations: T
hat the trial of your faith,
being much more precious
than of gold that perisheth,
though it be tried with fire,
might be found unto praise and honour and glory
at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
Whom having not seen, ye love;
in whom, though now ye see him not,
yet believing, ye rejoice
with joy unspeakable and full of glory:
Receiving the end of your faith,
even the salvation of your souls.
Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober,
and hope to the end for the grace
that is to be brought unto you
at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
I Peter 1:6-9, 13

Published in: on June 25, 2017 at 4:20 am  Comments (1)  
Tags: , ,

The “Still” Lesson

God always has a chair waiting for a visit.

Wait on the LORD:
be of good courage,
and he shall strengthen thine heart:
wait, I say, on the LORD
Psalms 27:14

I heard a Quaker lady
who had to spend half an hour every day
sitting quiet and doing nothing
calling it her ‘still’ lesson.
I wish we could enjoy
such a half-hour daily in God’s presence;
our still lesson would be one
of the most useful lessons of the day.

“Be still and know that I am God.”
Psalms 46:10

In times of difficulty be still!
Thine enemies are plotting thine over throw!
They laugh at thy strong confidence!
But hast thou not heard His voice saying;
”This is the way, walk ye in it” Isaiah 30:21?
Then leave Him to deal with thy foes
from whatever quarters they come.
He is thy rock, and rocks do not shake.
He is thy high tower,
and a high tower cannot be flooded.

Thou needest mercy,
and to Him belongeth mercy.
Do not run hither and thither in panic!
Just quietly wait, hushing thy soul,
as He did the fears of His friends
on the eve of Gethsemane and Calvary

“Rest in the Lord, wait patiently for Him”
Psalms 37:7

Be still, for He will not rest,
until He hast finished the thing this day.

Published in: on June 23, 2017 at 4:03 am  Leave a Comment  
Tags: , , ,

Reasons for Joy

Rejoice in the Lord always.
Again I will say, rejoice!
Philippians 4:4 NKJV

“How’s life?” someone asks.
And we who’ve been resurrected from the dead say,
“Well, things could be better.”
Or “Couldn’t get a parking place.”
Or “My parents won’t let me move to Hawaii.”
Or “People won’t leave me alone
so I can finish my sermon on unselfishness”. . .

Are you so focused on what you don’t have
that your are blind to what you do?

You have a ticket to heaven no thief can take,
an eternal home no divorce can break.
Every sin of your life has been cast to the sea.
Every mistake you’ve made is nailed to the tree.
You’re blood-bought and heaven-made.
A child of God—forever saved.

So be grateful, joyful—for isn’t it true?
What you don’t have is much less than what you do.

But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven,
where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt,
and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
For where your treasure is,
there will your heart be also.
Matthew 6:20-21

Published in: on June 20, 2017 at 3:55 am  Comments (1)  
Tags: , , ,

Only Seeds

the Farmer/Grandpa teaching young sowers.

I read a fable about a man who was browsing
in a store when he made the shocking discovery
that God was behind the sales counter.

So the man walked over and asked,
“What are you selling?”

God replied,
“What does your heart desire?”

The man said,
“I want happiness, peace of mind,
and freedom from fear…for me and the whole world.”

God smiled and said,
“I don’t sell fruit here. Only seeds.”

Luke 8:5-8 A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it. And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it.And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Luke 8:11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.

Luke 8:12-15 Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away. And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.

Published in: on June 19, 2017 at 4:44 am  Comments (1)  
Tags: , ,

Father’s Day 2017

A perfect description

of my Father, Bill Topper

the Farmer and my 3 Sons.

He never looks for praises
He’s never one to boast
He just goes on quietly working
For those he loves the most
His dreams are seldom spoken
His wants are very few
And most of the time his worries
Will go unspoken too
He’s there…. A firm foundation
Through all our storms of life
A sturdy hand to hold to
In times of stress and strife
A true friend we can turn to
When times are good or bad
One of our greatest blessings,
The man that we call Dad.
by Karen K. Boyer

Published in: on June 18, 2017 at 4:47 am  Leave a Comment  
Tags: , ,

Our 50th Wedding Anniversary


June 16, 1967

We are not the same persons this year as last;
(or 50 years ago – me)
nor are those we love.
It is a happy chance if we,
changing,
continue to love a changed person.
W. Somerset Maugham

December 18, 2016

We do and we are thankful.

We have been abundantly blessed.

Published in: on June 16, 2017 at 4:14 am  Leave a Comment  
Tags: , ,

I AM THAT I AM

God is His own equivalent,
and God needs nothing
but Himself to achieve the great purposes
on which He has set His heart.

I AM THAT I AM Exodus 3:14

God gave Moses a blank,
and as life went forward for the next forty years.
Moses kept filling in the blank with his special need.
He filled in fearlessness before Pharaoh.
He filled in guidance across the Red Sea.
He filled in manna for a whole population.
He filled in water from the rock.
He filled in guidance through the wilderness.
He filled in victory over Amalek.
He filled in clear revelation at Sinai.
And so Moses, for the rest of his life,
had little else to do than to go quietly alone,
and taking God’s blank checkbook,
signed by God’s name,
I AM THAT I AM,
write in I AM guidance;
I AM bread.
He presented the check
and God honored it.

And whenever you come to live upon God’s plan as Moses from that moment did, you may absolutely trust God. And when you come down to the hoar-head you will say, “Not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spake concerning you” Joshua 23:14. A. B. Simpson

Whatever life may bring to you,
“God” will ring true to you;
Star in your sky—
Food in your store—
Staff in your hand—
Friend by your side—
Light on your path—
Joy in your heart—
In your ears music—
In your mouth songs.
Yes, rapid as your race may run,
And scorching as may shine your sun,
And bitter as may blow your blast,
And lonely as your lot be cast—
Whatever life may bring to you,
“God” will aye ring true to you.
Charles. Herbert

Am I a God at hand, saith the LORD, and not a God afar off? Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD. Jeremiah 23:23

Published in: on June 13, 2017 at 4:05 am  Leave a Comment  
Tags: , , , ,

My Salvation, My Rock, My Defense

A Psalm of David.
Truly my soul waiteth upon God:
from him cometh my salvation.
He only is my rock and my salvation;
he is my defense;
I shall not be greatly moved.
My soul, wait thou only upon God;
for my expectation is from him.
He only is my rock and my salvation:
he is my defense;
I shall not be moved.
In God is my salvation and my glory:
the rock of my strength,
and my refuge, is in God.
Trust in him at all times; ye people,
pour out your heart before him:
God is a refuge for us. Selah.
Psalms 62:1-2,5-8

Published in: on June 11, 2017 at 4:32 am  Leave a Comment  
Tags: ,

Five Minute Friday – Expect


Joining with Kate at Heading Home

For five minutes of free writing.
“This is meant to be a free write, which means:
no editing, no over-thinking,
no worrying about perfect grammar or punctuation.
Just write.”

Today’s prompt- Expect

go

Expect –
regard as likely to happen
anticipate await

Oh, how often I have expected something to happen
birthdays,
Christmas,
a wedding,
the births of my five babies.

Many times
the happenings were beyond my expectations.
Most of the time, in fact,
they were happily beyond my expectations.

BUT
those times with hard results,
those times of heart rendering results
those times when my expectations were shattered.

What then . . .

This I recall to mind,
therefore I have hope.
Lamentations 3:21

I remember:
in the hard times – I was never alone.

in the heart rendering times = He healed my broken heart.

in the shattered times – He picked up the broken pieces,
set them back on the potter’s wheel
and created a new vessel fir His use,

I’ve learned to leave my expectations in God’s hands.

Psalm 62:5
My soul, wait thou only upon God;
for my expectation is from him.

There is none but him in whom thou canst safely trust; and to get his help, resign thyself into his hands; be subject to him, and be silent before him. . .
Clarke’s Commentary


We are on vacation and just visited Niagara Falls.
The Almighty God who created this,
can easily and faithfully take care of my expectations.

Published in: on June 10, 2017 at 9:57 am  Comments (5)  
Tags: , , , ,

A Time To . . .

Sunrise, noon, sunset, midnight.
Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.
January, May, September,.
Winter, spring, summer, Autumn.
Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas.
These are the punctuation marks of time,
and what a marvelous mercy
that God divided light from darkness,
“and the evening and the morning were the first day”. . .

“For everything its season,
and for every activity under heaven in its time.”
wrote Qoholeth, the preacher of the book of Ecclesiastes.
For birth, death,
planting and uprooting,
killing and healing,
pulling down and building up.
Weeping and laughing,
mourning and dancing,
scattering stones and gathering them,
embracing and refraining,
seeking and losing,
keeping and throwing away,
tearing and mending.
There are times for silence and speech,
for love and hate,
for war and peace.

For the Christian,
time is transfigured
as we see it held in the love of God,
created by and for Jesus Christ,
to whom belongs the primacy
over all created things
and who existed before everything
and holds everything together.
Elisabeth Elliot

Published in: on June 9, 2017 at 3:55 am  Leave a Comment  
Tags: , ,

God’s ‘Love Language’ is Gifts.

We are profoundly impressed with
the unlimited resources of the God of the Bible.
He never does anything small.
When He makes an ocean
He makes it so deep
that no man can fathom it.
When He makes a mountain
He makes it so large
that no one can measure or weigh it.
When He makes flowers,
He scatters multiplied millions of them
where there is no one to admire them but Himself.
When He makes grace,
He makes it with out sides or bottom
and leaves the top off.
Instead of giving salvation with a medicine dropper,
He pours it forth like a river.

When God sets out to do a thing for us,
He does it with a prodigality of love-
prompted abundance that fairly staggers one
who reckons things by the coldly calculating standards of earth.

Whatever blessing is in our cup
it is sure to run over.
 With Him the calf is always the fatted calf;
the robe is always the best robe;
the joy is unspeakable;
the peace passeth understanding;
the grace is so abundant
that the recipient has all sufficiency for all things,
and abounds to every good work.

There is no grudging in God’s benevolence;………
unknown

And he brought him forth abroad, and said,
Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars,
if thou be able to number them:
and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.
And he believed in the LORD;
and he counted it to him for righteousness.
Genesis 15:5-6

Published in: on June 6, 2017 at 4:42 am  Leave a Comment  
Tags: ,

May 350 Block Report

“Our new goal for May is to make 46 blocks
for a year-to-date total of 149.

and our new goal for June, which is 38 blocks,
for a year-to-date total of 187.”
Prairie Moon Quilts

My total to date –
January 33 + February 34 + March 22 + April 12 + May 0 = 101

Yes, zero, I cut strips for my 30’s scrappy trip-around-the-world,
but nothing sewn together.

,
I don’t even have a new picture.
I love the way these blocks look.

We left Sacramento, CA, on our vacation road trip on May 11.
I did pack my sewing machine
but it hasn’t seen the light of day.
I’m doing good to get in some crocheting on my #100 day project.
We are now in Holmes County Ohio.

Published in: on June 4, 2017 at 7:07 pm  Leave a Comment  
Tags: , ,

#100 Days Project

My #100 day project of crocheting has hit a detour.

We live near Sacramento, CA.
We left May 11 on a road trip vacation
pulling a 22 ft trailer
driving north into Washington,
east through Idaho ans Montana,
south to Denver, Co,
east to Chicago, IL,
southeast through IN into Kentucky,
northeast to Ohio arriving
in Holmes County Ohio, Amish country on June 3, 2017.

I had time most evenings to crochet,
but little energy to do so.
I’m the navigator
and it takes much concentration at times.
Thinking is hard work.

I’ve missed 18 days of crocheting.

I finally finished row 63,
completed row 64 and started row 65
on May 16, non-moving day.
Then I had to rip back
because row 65 wouldn’t work out.
So not much head way,
but I finally figured out my problem
and now I’m on row 66.
Row 66 section between ‘hills’ reads
*sc in next 18 stitches,
hdc in next 2 sts,
dc in next 2 sts,
edc in next 2 sts,
tr in next st,
tr2tog,
tr in next st,
edc in next 2 sts,
dc in next 2 sts,
hdc in next 2 sts,
sc in next 18 sts*
9 times.

I am enjoying, when I’m not ripping,
the challenge of this #100 day project of crocheting.

Published in: on June 4, 2017 at 6:27 pm  Leave a Comment  
Tags: