As I See It Now

Friday, March 11, 2022

When You're Surprised You're No Longer Superman

"And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you ... the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God. Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field." --- from Deuteronomy 28

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Uh-oh. A move to Rapid City SD is looking iffy.

You know how, in your 60's, Life can remind you that--even with Grace-- you're no longer the leaper of tall buildings you once were? And the not-so-healthy stuff you sowed earlier you're now reaping from later?

Yeah, well, it's been like that.

But truly, it's ok. Well, er, after some afternoons of acceptance and reminding myself of pretty much everything I've ever written in this blog.

Three weeks ago a Plan B began forming when I spied this local place online:

I 'ran' downstairs and told Tom, "An attached garage! No laundry in a deep, dark basement! Pantry cabinets and real closets! Less than 1,000 square feet! A small lawn with a large concrete patio and no trees dropping hundreds of twigs for me to pick up! And it's cheap!"

Talk about being dizzy with dreams. Pioneer Girl Debra could become, instead, Leisure Lady. Wow.

How quickly our focus shifted. Hey, we still love New York, well, except for the politics, but we do believe an upcoming outpouring of the Holy Spirit can change even those. (Right? Right?) シ And the snow? It's greatly lessened this past decade and an attached garage, oh my, would be safer for Tom and reduce my shoveling.

Anyway, relax. We didn't rush out and see the place. (I would show you indoor photos, but it's just 2004 vanilla.) Right now we're simply hearing the same ol' thing from God: "Declutter. This is your huge downsizing season of Life, like cleaning up after the party."

At least Grace is here and has us currently excited about living at Hobbit Cottage with much less stuff to scrub and dust(what a new, novel concept!). ツ

Simply put, God used that mobile home to show us we have options, encouraging ones, and what matters is that we desire His plan over ours. And if we move where and when He says? We'll be happy. Content. At peace.

As long as God moves in with us, it will still be a wonderful life, no matter when--or where.

Oh! And for the record, Tom and I lived in mobile homes in CA and NV so we know about space rent fees. And it was weird; in both cases we sold each home without even having them listed for sale. Space rent isn't that high here and we must have an attached garage (most assisted living places here don't have those), so if a mobile home is the route we need to take, we'll take it.

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." --- Jeremiah 29:11

“Dependence on the Lord is wisdom and self-reliance is foolishness. But dependence on the Lord does not mean laziness, it means prayerful action and patient perseverance...”
― Katie Kiesler, Because I Love You

Only because of Grace could I enjoy letting go of stuff as much as I enjoyed buying it!

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For fans of Mary Jane Butters, you may also like Girl In The Woods. (Their love of the outdoors is similar.) This video, especially, felt peaceful and cozy and oh! Her collie. Gorgeous. And how she prays before meals and she and her husband stay in separate cabins--unique!

And wow. If you love whimsical tiny houses, here's one for you. And that bathroom floor, especially with the light shining upon it? Beautiful (and never before seen).

The older one becomes, the more patient she must be with herself.

And remember! God wants to give us fresh adventures with each of our new decades.

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Please remember: My posts are always about more than they appear to be.

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"For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." ... Matthew 6:14,15

Saturday, March 05, 2022

Joy Behar. Falling.

“But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you." ---Luke 6:27

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Around 5 years ago I fell outside of our backdoor. Fortunately, my long black wool coat kept me from scrapes, but the jolt felt dreadful and very unlike falling at age 6.

Unforgettable, those seconds.

Tom, who had polio as a baby, fell again just two nights ago in our kitchen and actually? It helped us cement our Plan B regarding our upcoming move. Plan A is still Rapid City. Plan B is an alternate, easier plan, for neither of us is young and capable as in years prior.

Fortunately, both plans excite us. Someday I'll share Plan B with you.

Anyway, three favorite pundits shared video of Joy Behar, from The View, falling on stage. The comments left by folks? Horrifying. All these fellow conservatives joking about a 79-year-old woman falling!

Seriously, the hate-filled, snide remarks made me shake, feel sickly.

Now, let's be clear. Joy Behar and I agree on pretty much nothing. Oh, perhaps we enjoy some same songs, movies, foods, colors, but not much else. And yes, I'd rather chew gravel than watch The View.

But still! Never, ever would I rejoice that Joy (or anyone else at any age) fell down that way. To me, it looked frightening.

Yet even scarier? The rabid wolf-like way conservatives and Christians reacted:

"It couldn't have happened to a more deserving person."

"She makes an excellent rug."

"Hilarious!" "Awesome! That needs to happen to her once a day."

"My thoughts and prayers are with the unfortunate chair and floor."

... and hundreds more. And if she'd broken a hip? Gah, I cringe to think that still people would've celebrated.

Without love we will never win this current battle. We will change nothing by our hatred for people.

Without love, we are no better than confused agitators. Actually, we're worse, given that we carry a huge God within us, but are refusing to release Him. We're keeping Him hidden from a hurting world.

Too often we're utterly unlike the Good Shepherd who left the 99 sheep to search for the left behind one. The shepherd who rejoiced, not that the lamb was lost--no! But, instead, that she'd been found.

By Him.

"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." --- John 10:11

"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil." --- 2 Corinthians 5:10

"There are people in heaven who wish they had done things differently. Knowing has grief." ... Kat Kerr

To my fellow book-loving friends: Cozy old library ambience.

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Please remember: My posts are always about more than they appear to be.

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Tuesday, March 01, 2022

Is God Giving Us a Break From Loving Others?

"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a clanging cymbal. If I ... can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have faith so as to move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor ... but have not love, I gain nothing." --- 1 Corinthians 13:1-3

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What I'm wondering? Should Christians be posting meme's like these?

I mean, really? What about the Bible verses like those at the top and these, also? --

"And above all these put on love ... Above all, keep loving one another earnestly ... Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love." --- Colossians 3:14, 1 Peter 4:8, 1 John 4:8

Yikes!

And yes, I realize these days this, below, messes with our minds:

"Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold..."

Yet even so, we are called to love, for the verse's remainder states: "but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved." ---Matthew 24:12,13

Stands firm. In godly love.

Sometimes I believe there's confusion in our ranks. Beliefs that because we're so crazily unlike Mother Theresa, Florence Nightingale, Billy Graham, Andrew Carnegie, George Muller, etc., then, well, our contributions are ignorable. Insignificant. They don't matter.

But today I'm simply here to remind you everything matters.

Every glass of water we gave.
Every word of encouragement, even those at Facebook(!)
Every visit made after a godly nudge.
Every 'I care about you' phone call.
Every present we bought or created.
Every sacrifice.
Every, "I'm praying for you."
Every 'buycott' we supported in agreement.
Every condolence sent.
Every 'thank-you' we spoke. Every smile.
Every God-nudged warning we stated.
Every time we volunteered.
Every mutually-enjoyed recommendation, shared.
Every humorous meme passed around.
Every compliment.
Every prayer-walk through our neighborhood.
Every 'like' we clicked to show support. Every comment.
Every forgiveness extended.
Every lesson learned, shared.
Every 'happy birthday!' we voiced.

Every loving act, simple or complex, stemming from obedience to God matters. Eternally. Always has and will and they're being recorded in His 'books of remembrance' (Malachi 3:16,17, with other mentions in Revelation 20).

Will ours be a tiny paperback--or--what Booktubers call a mammoth book? Just wondering today for myself, really. For all of us who call ourselves 'Christian' during these turbulent times when love's more needed than ever.

"You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body." --- 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Oh, all the love we can express while we're simply online!

It's a privilege, a pleasure to love people, to help them. An honor to serve God by encouraging others.

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My favorite Booktubers (so far) --

Kate Howe

Mitzi Reads and Writes

Chantel Reads All Day

Book Zealots

Christian Faith and Fiction

Amy Marie

The BeachBumBookworm