part vs whole

I was reading I Corinthians 13 and was stopped at "knowing in part".  I have a dear friend who shared with me a weight, stressed, upset issue.  I responded and he gave me more and I responded and now I am waiting.  I'm wondering how to encourage and uplift.

What I know is in part.  What I feel is in part.  What I think is in part.  What I say is in part.  Love is the only whole.  How do you wholly love?  How do you wholly love with what you know in part?  How do you wholly love with what you feel in part?  How do you wholly love when you think in part?  How do you wholly love when you say in part?  All I'm getting so far is keep at loving as God would have you do and do it with P A T I E N C E!  Committing it all to Jesus and watch Him turn water into wine....   

Galatians 6:9 says "weary in doing good."

Elections 2012

Help, Lord, for the godly are no more;
the faithful have vanished from among men.

Everyone lies to his neighbor;
their flattering lips speak with deception.

May the Lord cut off all flattering lips
and every boastful tongue that says, “We will triumph with our tongues;
we own our lips—who is our master?”

“Because of the oppression of the weak and the groaning of the needy,
I will now arise,” says the Lord.
“I will protect them from those who malign them.”

And the Words of the Lord are flawless,
like silver refined in a furnace of clay,
purified seven times.

O Lord, You will keep us safe
and protect us from such people forever.

The wicked freely strut about
when what is vile is honored among men. ~Psalm 12:1-8

I was listening to this passage being read and I have stopped to go over it repeatedly and meditatively This is America. This is the world. …

Where are God's faithful? Where is the salt? Where is the light? Am I making a difference in my world? Am I doing my part and keeping America from the burning sulfur? Oh, how I feel the heat on the back of my neck and the sulfur stench burns my tender nose.…

Having a liberal minded orator spew his jargon promoting moral decline and calling it part of the civil rights. Let's call it the truth. Live without self control. Live to your flesh. It is your choice. Lies all lies.

To live as you choose, to live your life outside the box and splatter all over, to have no rules is to live with your fist against God and against your fellowman. If throughout time we had one man and one woman marriages without divorce or same sex connections, there would be no sexual disease. In fact our families would be stronger and in turn our country and then our world. Honoring God in every part of our life is far more important than having superpower status.

We are a needy people but why would God save us a defiant people and bent on doing it our way?

O Lord, You will keep us safe
and protect us from such people forever.

The wicked freely strut about
when what is vile is honored among men. ~Psalm 12:1-8

Contained ...

Lucy Swindoll asked her brother this question.  I saw it and thought it was an interesting question.  Of course, I love questions and I love to ask them and mostly like to hear the response.  So, I ask you - What is your favorite feeling and why?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I think my favorite feeling would be 'contained'.  Maybe better words would be 'at rest', 'peaceful', 'calm', 'safe'...  I like crawling under the heavy covers and pulling them up tight to my chin or nose and turning down the dimmed lights to darkness.  I imagine God's Arm over me and everything else is shut down.  No more worries.  I can't stand drama.  It doesn't need to be that hard.  I deal with a boss that makes things bigger than they are.  I shake my head (when she isn't looking) and send a prayer.  I have a little brother that is a huge worry wort and gets dramatic about things.  I keep thinking that I have 10 years on him and maybe he will mellow out or not!  I do have those feelings of angst in me but I try to keep the outer layer calm.  I do go quiet when there is turmoil about or if I am in pain.  Keeping contained or calm is my coping mechanism.  Don't get me wrong, I am very passionate and I have some majorly strong feelings and they do walk about aloud.  I do have my moments that I am out of control.  I do think that they are less as I have grown up. {wink wink} But like we have uncovered I am still very much a girl with brainy moments.  I am a quiet person and I believe in being a good neighbor.  I have been an apartment dweller in a building of 8 where it was more like communal living.  I lived in someone's else cigarette smoke and violent rampages.  Yelling makes me shut down.  All this is what I call 'living outside your box'.  I believe the only thing you should do outside the box is creative thinking!  Yes, my favorite feeling is 'contained'.  

his presence - my present ...

Do you know what makes me happy?  His presence.   He lives on the other side of the world but his presence is in his emails or in the his voice on the telephone or in a letter.  It is like he walks into a room full of people and I am there a wallflower of course.  He searches for me until our eyes lock and dance as we find home.  It is like a song that lifts me up and makes me walk a little taller with my feet walking on air.  It is like a hot coal that warms the recesses of my heart making my cheeks warm and revs up my thoughts.  It is like a breeze that ever so lightly touches the skin, like his hand that wipes away a fleeting tear and lifts my chin.  His presence makes me happy. {happy sigh} Just a little happy that I am thankful for.

what a way to go!

Whew!  All the 911 stuff brings up a lot of feelings.  A question has come to mind as I hear the stories all over again.  If I had a hubby who called me to tell me good bye before he met the Lord, what would I say?

The answer comes quickly.  Psalms 23 seems top on everyone's list but for me it would be Psalms 100.  This particular Psalms gives such strength and gives you something constructive to do when chaos is raining down all around you and when you feel the fires heat bear down your neck and when you feel the foundations give way .....

Psalms 100
Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands.

The battle is the Lord's.  What is a joyful shout but a battle cry?  

Serve the Lord with gladness;

... even in difficult times, even in a blaze of fire, even when you storm the terrorist in a plane headed for the White House, even if you are all alone gasping for the next breath of air,...

come before His Presence with singing.

Singing changes your brain for the better even if all you can get out is a few whimpering notes... He hears you.  He is with you.  He is singing over you.  Can't you hear Him singing?

Know that the Lord, He is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
we are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

We were made by His Hand and He has plans for us.  We are weak.  He is strong.  He is our Hope and all we have to do is trust and obey Him.  What a Great Shepherd He is.  We are NEVER EVER FORSAKEN!  Keep marching onward! 

Enter into His Gates with Thanksgiving, and into His Courts with Praise, be thankful to Him, and bless His Holy Name.

If is time to go on into Glory what better way to do so than with thanksgiving when meeting God face to face.  If is time to stay here and come before Him in prayer and all is taken from my hand, it is His plan not my own and I will come before Him and thank Him for what I did have and will wait upon the Lord for what is and is to come.

For the Lord is good; His Mercy is everlasting, and His Truth endures to all generations.

Yes, the kids will know not only their earthy father but their Heavenly Father as well.  God is both Protector and Provider.  We shall meet again.  I have the memories.  We serve and love the One True God.  Those who come behind us will know of our love for each other but more importantly for our Lord and Master.

The visuals are overloading my mind as I step into the 'shoes'.  I am sure the emotions would be raw and the cracks would be in my voice but what strength I find in Psalms 100 and would want to give it out to my loved ones whether or not it was me facing the my final (finest) hours or it was my loves ones.  

O to enter HIS GATES a shouting!!!!!  with all the JOY within me bursting out of all my seams!  What a way to go!!!!  

love an old book ...

A favorite thing for me to do on Saturday is to visit the local church second hand store. One of my favorite sections to browse besides the glass is the books. A favorite rare find is to snag an old book.

A truly old book usually has a blue or a brown hardback cover and is small enough that it fits nicely in my hand. It is still sturdy and opens itself to lie flat when you study its contents. There is no stiff awkward introduction. It is amiable like an old friend waiting for your visit.

I found such an old friend when I saw Halley's Bible Handbook for just $1. I brought it home.  It felt good in my hands.  That got me to thinking about how I favor these old books best.  You don't have to treat with care in order not to break the binding but I will be careful just because that is how I am with books.  They also make you wonder who had them before you and what treasure they found in them.  Now resting in my care I can't wait to touch and discover my own treasures.  Who needs the digital books?

Infectious . . .

I was NOT going to go Royal Wedding crazy. I have a bad taste about what we all did to Lady Diana. Plus, I didn't get to watch Diana's wedding because I had to go to school. I did to go to England for a school band trip and got to see some Royal sites like the castles and changing of the guard etc. So seeing the sites that I got to see up close and personal all dressed up would be the best part for me or so I thought.

Dad and I have indulged Mom with her giddy excitement but I was not going to cave. I had to work - overtime to boot. Tv would have endless clips. I went to bed and surfaced a bit before 4AM. So I thought why not check the world clock converter and the schedule. Then i snoozed till five. I think I subconsciously knew how I would react and yet was a bit surprised.

As I have gotten older, I have tear ducts that overrun at any that moves me. So what made me tear up? No, it wasn't over Kate's dress but over the boys! They are young men yet with boyish charm in their rudy cheeks. All dressed in their military uniforms they were touchable and human. So why the uncontrolled tears? There is this verse in Proverbs 30 that always intrigues me. "There are three things that are too amazing for me, four that I do not understand: ... the way a man is with a young woman." (verses 18-19) This is my reason for tears. Here is a young man who chose a woman to be his wife and there is no disappearing. It is something to see them together. They are so at ease with each other.

Sure I loved Kate's dress but Pip's dress is what I would want to wear. I loved the trees inside the church. It reminded me of the broken castle in the movie Everafter. I loved Harry's look back at the bride as his brother would not look at her dress until she stood by him. I loved her 'wow' when coming out to the balcony and her giggle after their second kiss. I totally love the ascot car they used to go to their reception. What I loved most was the actual message in the ceremony. It spoke of the true meaning behind marriage if only ears would actually hear.

As I went about my day, certain observations came like how smooth Kate seem to be. I heard someone describe her as a swan gliding on smooth water. I like that picture. It made me desire to have that confident stillness.

The other thing that amazed me that in this modern age I did not have to get out of bed to switch on the tv. I could stay in bed watch it on my iPod. They have an app for that.

Well, it has been a long day and my emotions have bottomed out. I hope that sleep comes and come soundly. So much for NOT going Royal Wedding crazy.