It's About More Than A Warm Fuzzy Feeling....

Hebrews 6

Since my husband and I now have no living parents as of the end of last month, I often find myself thinking about them and the legacy they have left us with.  It always amazes me how people continue on with life after the funeral.  How is it possible that one so loved can leave and the rest of us can pick up and do life again without them and not completely fall apart?!  

Yes, we have family, friends, acquaintances and all the memories and photographs to comfort and console us especially initially. After some time we begin to take comfort in, and notice more than ever the similarities of character, personallity and physical resemblances in family that we may not have noticed so much before the loss.  This is what really intrigues me these days.  Every November my thoughts are full of memories of my mother since this is the month in which she died.  Within the past week as both my daughters baked cinnamon rolls and a niece let me know she was making "Grandma Eva's Stew" for supper I found myself thankful all over again for my Mom's love of the kitchen and passing that love on to her family. As my mother baked and cooked there would be music playing on the stereo or radio while she hummed softly and sometimes she would make her own music.  Often she would take coffee breaks without the coffee as she sat down with her accordian or a guitar and later the piano.  Our family eats well and loves music and it is because of her influence. 

By now you have read the words in the picture I posted.  I read this chapter in Hebrews this morning and as I read the last two verses I could hear my Father's amazing bass voice singing an old hymn 

"We Have An Anchor" based on this Scripture.  I wondered if I could still remember the words so I started singing... 

"Will your anchor hold in the storms of life, when the clouds unfold their wings of strife

...when the strong tides lift and the cables strain...will your anchor drift or firm remain?" 

and then on to the chorus 

"We have an Anchor that keeps the soul stedfast and sure while the billows roll

 Fastened to the Rock which cannot move, grounded firm and deep in the Saviour's love."  

I can't tell you how many years it has been since I heard or sang that song...it could be as many as forty-five years or more.  My Father's biggest desire in life was that he would introduce his family to God and he did everything he could to have us all come to the place in our lives where we would willingly allow God to have His rightful place in us.  (Ultimately it is each individual's choice to do this and every time one of us made that decision he couldn't wipe the smile off his face and the reaction was the same when grandchildren began making this decision.)  There was Scripture reading with explanations of it in our home as we sat together in the living room in the evening, and there was music.  I remember many gatherings with family and with friends that culminated in a sing song time.  The words of much of the Scripture read and these old hymns we sang at home and in church seem to be forever etched in my memory and I believe they go even deeper than that.   And when I think of my parents, I think about God.  They did their best to live their lives so that their faith would be demonstrated in every area and I think they did it well.  

This little post could be taken in many directions but my thoughts today are that if you are reading this and you are raising a family, consider what kind of legacy you will leave them with one day.  I hope you have this Anchor both our parents have passed on to their family.   The Anchor that encompasses your entire life so that a reading,  song, and a memory will all point to that One True Anchor that will give them the firm, sure hope of being united once again as family to spend all eternity together.   

...the last verse of the song...

"When our eyes behold through the gathering night

the city of gold, our harbor bright

We shall anchor fast by the heavenly shore

with the storms all past forevermore!"

...afternoon pondering

As I sit in the quiet of my comfortable home today and think about my life, the good and bad, twists and turns, ups and downs, pure joy and indescribable sadness my mind can't help but consider all that is happening currently in and around me.  It could get extremely discouraging to dwell on the chaos around me and admitedly there are times all the sadness in the world consumes me for awhile as I wonder how it will all play out....not for long though...not any more.   

Since I made the choice to seek out real Truth which led me to faith in the Creator of all things, namely God, I have made knowing who He is and what He is all about my mission in life.  I am keeping this post reasonably short today which also means I won't be getting all that detailed.  Let me just say I am convinced that God is real and that He orders my steps daily and will until the day I die, at which time I will join Him in heaven for all eternity.  Having said that, I talk to Him daily, throughout the day and He speaks to me too in various ways.(1 Cor. 2:9-16)

I read my Bible most mornings.  At the beginning of the year, I usually decide on a format for a few months, or even for the year and that is what I stick to.  It could mean reading through the Bible in a year or choosing certain books in the Bible or researching a topic.  That is my personal time each day reading, meditating and praying.  Since I love to study with other people I usually am involved in a Bible Study with a few women.  This fall I decided on two studies.  One is in the New Testament and is a short book, the book of James.  Something that I find so thrilling and exciting about life with God is how He speaks to me through all the ways that I have chosen to immerse myself in filling my mind with His Truth.  For example what I study in James is confirmed by what I am reading in Thessalonians and that is cemented by how He leads me victoriously through three days of intense and difficult issues I need to work through.  The icing on the cake is often a coffee with a friend as she shares how God has spoken, taught, helped her along the same lines.   As I think about this I am reminded that He works all things out together for good to those that love Him, who are called according to His purpose.   God uses all our past, combines it with the present and uses it to conform us to the image of His Son.  

God has proven Himself faithful in my life consistently.  He has never failed me yet.  I have often failed Him though by running ahead of Him instead of exercising patience, choosing my own path and ignoring Him and thinking I know a better way but it always ends up being the wrong decision.  

The last number of years I have been challenged to truly believe that what I ask IN HIS NAME (to me this means knowing from Scripture what God would want in a particular situation considering who God is....for instance, as an example we need never doubt that God will help us extend forgiveness to another when He instructs us to forgive "70 X 7").  In other words, when I pray I have to believe it's a done deal and then act on it!  "But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt...." (James 1:6). 

How interesting that this topic came up the first lesson in the study of the book of James I find myself in this fall.  

How interesting that after spending much time this week praying intensely my reading in 2 Thess. 2 today ended with "...stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you....our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word!"

It is good to be able to sit and think; to ponder and reflect; to remind myself where my roots of faith are grounded and to be encouraged by my Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God my Father and be completely satisfied.