Bitten

My daughter, her husband, and my two youngest granddaughters came to vist last weekend. We had a wonderful time keeping the little girls while their parents celebrated their dad's birthday.

I didn't know then that they had come bearing a host of nasty germs. My daughter woke up Sunday morning with a stomach virus. My three year old granddaughter went to the doctor Monday with a bad cough and tested positive for flu.

I feared I was bound to get one or the other and, sure enough, I was bitten with the flu bug. I'm obeying my doctor's orders to lay low and push fluids for three days.

As I sit here in my easy chair, I think back to two years ago when I was sidelined with a pinched nerve in my back. That time of seclusion turned out to be a blessing because I got closer to Jesus than I had ever been, after spending weeks just reading my Bible and praying to Him.

At that time, I decided I didn't ever want to go back to fast paced living. I decided that I wanted to live slower, to find the joy that comes in simple moments. I decided I wanted to declutter  my life and live with less. I was dismayed by the greed I saw, in my own closet.

I'm still working, with Jesus' help, in these areas. I still have a long way to go, but I'm determined to scale down my life so I can enjoy it more. I've been bitten by the desire to simplify my life, for real this time. I want to live how ever many days I have left in a way that glorifies God and not to buy into the excess of the world I live in. 

"Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me", Psalm 51:10.

"Put on your new nature and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like Him", Ephesians 4:24.

Furry Love

If you're not a dog person you probably can't relate to this post. I love my Border Collie, Grace. When we got her, we already had two Livestock Guardian dogs and a tiny diva of a Pomeranian. We hadn't planned on getting another dog. But my husband read Philip Keller's book "Lessons Learned from a Sheep Dog, A True Story of Transforming Love", and he just had to have a Border Collie.

 

So my husband did what he always does, he got on Craigslist, and found a six month old Border Collie. Then I did what I always do, I got on Google, and read up on Border Collies. Everyone said that Border Collies were type A personalities; they are high energy, driven dogs who get obsessed over things and require a lot of time and attention.

 

I asked my husband if he had read about Border Collies and he said he had not. This from the man who always tells our children to never get a dog without thoroughly researching them, because  they will be living with you for 10 or 15 years. Then I asked him if he had asked the man why he was selling him. Of course, they are not going to tell you it is because the dog has eaten all their furniture,

but it is still good to ask.

 

Undaunted about either of these things, my husband's desire to get a Border Collie was bordering on obsession. The night he brought her home, he took her out to the backyard. Her head was down and her tail was between her legs. She was scared. I took Grace's face in my hands and told her that she didn't have to be afraid of us, that we were going to love her and take good care of her. That did it. That was the beginning of a beautiful love affair; but it wasn't between my husband and Grace, it was between Grace and me.

 

I love this dog. I told my husband I didn't realize how much I needed something with flesh and blood and hair to love on. He said I had needed that ever since my beloved  granddaughter had moved to Oklahoma. I guess he's right. Now I love Jesus more than anything on earth and I know that He is the only thing I can't live without; but it's sure nice on a dreary frigid winter day to come home and be greeted by a wiggly, friendly mass of furry love. Always. I praise God for His goodness to me.

 

"But I trust in your unfailing love. I will rejoice because you have rescued me. I will sing to the Lord because He has been good to me", Psalm 13:6.

White As Snow

    As I sit here in my sunroom this morning, watching the snow pour out of the sky and cover everything outside in a blanket of white, my thoughts turn to Jesus. The Bible says that Jesus' blood has covered my sins and left me white as snow. "Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean, wash me, and I will be whiter than snow", Psalm 51:7. And I believe it. I finally believe it!
     When I started this blog three years ago on a snowy day in February, I was in such deep depression. I had spent a lifetime listening to Satan's voice telling me I was worthless, damaged and different because of the sexual abuse. I had believed it and I was beat down. I lived in constant pain.
     That's when Jesus showed up and began to transform my heart. He led me to a Bible study for wounded women. In that class, my eyes were opened to see that I had let lies and negative thinking rule my life. I was defeated.
      Step by step, Jesus began to reveal His Grace to me. He reached down to this damaged woman and shined His light into all the places that were deeply hurt, all the places that had bled sorrow into my life. He showed me that I was not a bad person, but a woman that something bad had happened to.
     I learned that it didn't matter how good I was. All that mattered was how good He was. And He was good enough to give His body as a sacrifice for the sins of people like me, to wash me as white as snow. It is amazing. It is amazing grace. And I finally believe it! And I live in victory now!
     "We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are", Romans 3:22.
     "For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God's wonderful grace and His gift of righteousness for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ", Romans 5:17.