Knee deep in poop

Proverbs 14:4

Where there are no oxen, the manger is empty,

but from the strength of the ox comes an abundant harvest.

This scripture hit me right between the eyes!

I try to read the bible every night.

And when I've finished one book and

maybe not sure where I'm supposed to go next,

I'll read Proverbs, starting with

whatever the corresponding date is.

So, on January 14, I read Proverbs 14.

And it was like the skies parted and

the son shine poured forth!

What does Proverbs 14:4 say to me?

A person can live a tidy life, where things stay the same

and nothing is ever hard. But! If you want

to achieve anything worthwhile,

then life is gunna get messy!

Hard work means mess. It means rolling up your sleeves and

getting knee deep in what the ox produces.

If you want to lead a healthy life,

then you have to deal with the poop!

"Hard work never killed anybody." Who said that?

I can't remember, but I know it applies to my life.

And! Not only do we have the benefit of the ox, (all that hard work)

but we have all that lovely poop to spread around and

increase our yield!

So, if I want to succeed, I have to deal with the poop.

Nay! I have to relish the poop!

I'm gunna dig in and increase my yield!

How about you?

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Maundy Thursday

Maundy Thursday

My godparents owned a sailboat that they kept in the Caribbean Sea.  They lived on the Glory Be each winter from January through April.

It was Holy Thursday.  They were anchored in a cove that was inhabited by several different yachts from countries all over the world.

The weather had turned rough as evening came on and the water rushed and beat against the sides of the sail boat causing it to rock and buck.  But they were safely anchored and having their sea legs under them they carried on as if the waters were completely calm.

Roland got the wine while Joan got the bread and as they sat in the gloaming they remembered the night on which Jesus was betrayed and they broke the bread and ate it and they drank the wine in memory of him.

Joan looked out at the other boats moored around them and wondered how many others were remembering that this was a holy night.  And then she knew what God was asking her and Roland to do.

“Rol, lets take communion to some of the other boats.  We can ask them if they’d like to share in the Lord’s supper.”  She poured the wine into a glass and covered it over with an unused paper cupcake wrapper.  She broke up some bread and put it in a bag and off they went in their dingy to the yacht that was closest to them.  It was an American yacht.  They pulled up along side and called up to the couple on board, asking they would like to share communion.  But the couple just laughed at them and told them no. 

Undaunted,  they then approached a sail boat that was flying a German flag.  Having spent time in Germany after WW11, both Roland and Joan knew German.  But it had been many years since they had spoken it with any kind of regularity.  They pulled beside the boat and called up in German.  A man put his head over and very quickly they realized that his English was much better than their German.  So they asked if they would like to share in the Lord’s supper on this special night.  And the man answered, “Yes!”  he called to his family; his wife and two sons.  When they appeared on deck they all knelt down and the father began to recite those beloved words, “ On the night when he was betrayed, Jesus took the bread....”  And in the beautiful rhythm of the the rocking boat and the gentle quality of the spoken German words, God revealed himself to Joan and Roland and also to this good family.  The father served his wife.  The wife served her oldest son.  The son served his younger brother and the youngest son served his father.  When they were done, and had handed the wine and bread back over the side of the boat to Joan and Roland, the father said, “We are all one body.”  And Roland and Joan knew that too.

They continued on their way from boat to boat and several others appreciated the kind act and thanked them for their willingness to share.

They had made a holy night more holy, with love and service and reaching out to those around them.

It would have been enough.

Music!

Music!

I cannot go a day without hearing music, without singing!  I sing in the car.  I sing in the kitchen.  I sing in the  shower!  (What a cliche'!)

I used to be a professional folk singer.  I had brochures, and head shots, and a web site.  I even went to Nashville to record an album of original songs.   I traveled up and down the Eastern Seaboard to different festivals and really enjoyed it.  I made some awesome friends!

But then in the fall of 2002 I got sick.  I was diagnosed with Lyme disease in March of 03.

And I was sick for  four years.  

During my convalescence I learned some hard things about myself.  Like, maybe my walk with God wasn't really as good as I thought.  And this question presented itself;

Am I following the Lord... or am I asking the Lord to follow me?

The first day I thought about it, it was like a thunderbolt had struck!  All those years of me traveling in humanist circles, pretending that shining my light was enough....that I didn't need to present myself as particularly "Christian", that by carrying Christ with me people would automatically know that I was a Christian.

I was going blithely (and blindly) on my way, asking (or rather expecting) that Jesus was happy that I asked him to come along.  What pride!!

And the thing is, as I thought about it more and more, the Lord revealed to me that of all those thousands of people at all those festivals and house concerts and fundraisers, etc, the majority of the time, I was the only Christian I knew about.  There was no one else who I knew who shared my faith.

This was an awesome blow to me.  And it really humbled me.  How could I have blinded myself like that?

The next step was foregoing the music.  I did not perform, even after I was well.  I did not feel that that was what God wanted me to do.  I was to wait on him, in faith, that he would reveal to me the right time.   And last year I was asked to sing for my sister's art forum group.  After much prayer I said yes.  And really struggled with that decission.  But I made sure that the folks there knew about my faith.  I was no longer concerned about "fitting in".

Two weeks ago I was approached by a friend from Scotland who will be performing here in the spring.  He reiterated that he thought I should out there sharing my gift.  And for the first time, maybe in years, I felt the Lord say, "OK, go."

THE VERY NEXT DAY.... I received a phone call from the president of the American Irish Club asking if I would come in March and do a program of Irish songs for them.  I said yes right away!  And, on top of that, I got to witness to her about how the Lord healed me!

Last week I was asked, by a friend, to participate in a fund raiser for a dear friend with cancer.  And I said, "you bet!"

But I will no longer be content to just bring Jesus with me.  I'll be making pretty sure that I'm going with his permission and that I am presenting myself as his servant. 

How awesome is God???  

The Miracle of Nine

Last summer my Godmother became critically ill and nearly entered Heaven's gates when she was rushed to the hospital with massive internal bleeding. For 11 days her bleeding went uncontrolled. And during that time, she had been told, she received eight units of blood. Eventually the source of the bleeding was found and repaired and she was able to return home. Her convalescence was complicated by chemo therapy, but she did get better and is grateful to God for seeing her through this and showing her with such assurance, that He intends for her to be well and to continue the work He has placed in front of her.

While worshipping in church, several months after her hospital stay, she was filled with gratitude for those anonymous people who had donated their blood, making her recovery possible. And she prayed for them. " Oh Lord", she prayed. "Please send a special blessing to those eight people who donated their blood so that I could live." And in the small still voice that she recognised as God's, she heard, "Nine." Well, she was confused by that, and she said, "But Lord, my husband told me there were eight people who gave their blood." And the Lord spoke back, "Mine!"

And it is so true that God hears everything we say to Him! Whether it's praise or prayer, worship or petition, He hears it and He acts upon it, for our benefit and His glory!

But here's the rest of the story; When she was told that there was a chance she might have cancer cells floating around in her, her doctor ordered a blood test to measure a certain protein, CA125, in her blood, that is an indicator of cancer. The count was 257. The optimal number would be under 50. A few months later it was suggested that she discontinue the chemo, due to certain side effects that occured, and she was glad to agree. The CA125 blood test was run again and the count was............................nine!

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My Old Man

Tom , Hannah and Judy, college moving in day 2008

My old man! We've been together for 34 years! He was the first, and only, boy I ever dated. Our first date? I was 15. We went to see "Young Frankenstein". It was a Saturday matinee. I told myself, " If he tries to put his arm around me I'll slug him!" He says he thought, "I won't try to put my arm around her his this time." That was in February. By May, we swearing eternal devotion!

But there was a problem, right from the start. I was a new Christian. I had received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit in August of that year. And he was not a Christian. We became a devoted couple very quickly. I had to tell him, "I love you! And I want to spend the rest of my life with you, but, I won't marry you if you're not a Christian. And within a couple of months he had, indeed, accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior.

I know, I know! But you know what? We were married four years later and he has been the help mate and head of our family from the very beginning. He loves God! and he knows that Jesus died for him and rose again to fulfill the promise!

He has supported me in every hair brained scheme I have ever come up with. And, you, know, it's not easy living with an artist! And wouldn't you know! Both of his children are artists too!

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